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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24158824">Kill 'Em With Kindness</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/myrkrio1495/pseuds/myrkrio1495'>myrkrio1495</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Gravity Falls</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - High School, Dipper is a loner, Dipper saves bill from a dicey situation, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Kinda Fluffy, M/M, all the characters are 18, bill loves to mess with Dippper, dipper and mabel are supportive siblings, kill 'em with kindness</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-06-08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 20:28:13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>26,402</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24158824</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/myrkrio1495/pseuds/myrkrio1495</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Dipper finally listens to Mabel and goes to a party. He get's way more than he bargained for, but then again, he's alright with that.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Bill Cipher/Dipper Pines</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>68</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I think this is gonna be a three chapter deal but we'll see how it goes. Let me know what you think if you feel so inclined. Also sorry if the spacing is weird, I write these on Google Docs and then copy\paste so. Oh well.<br/>Enjoy Chapter One.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Dipper walked into school with his twin sister like he did everyday, his hat pulled over his messy brown hair and his sister rambling on about what her plans for the day were, to which he would listen, amused at her antics. The hallways were full of teenagers of all ages and types, usually sequestered in their own little clumps, making it difficult for him to squeeze through the hallways. But he and Mabel would walk until they made it to the cafeteria to meet with her friends, Candy and Grenda. They were nice though, the whole group being weird in their own right but not a bad group in the slightest. Dipper would sit with the girls as they talked about the latest heartthrob of the week and would observe all the students mill about the room, some getting breakfast from the kitchen and others doing as he was, just sitting with friends.<br/>

They all sat together until the warning bell rang, signalling the oncoming start of the day. Candy and Grenda said their goodbyes, heading to their homeroom as the twins went to their own. They shared a homeroom given the fact that their last names were the exact same, but after the brief 15 minutes, they would split for the day, meeting up for lunch and then again to go home with their old family friend, Soos.<br/>

Dipper’s first period was English. It wasn’t so bad, other than the fact that literature this early in the morning made it a challenge to stay awake, try as he may. English always passed by uneventfully, his teacher droning on for an hour and a half about classic novels and the color blue. It made Dipper almost bored to tears but he stayed awake, taking notes when he could until he was dismissed. No, things didn’t get interesting until his next class, Computer Technology. Though it was still far too early in the morning, this class wasn’t hard to stay awake in for two reasons. One, because he actually enjoyed computers and two, because of the obnoxious group of kids that sat in the back. One in particular.<br/>
Bill Cipher, the tall, slender kid who always seemed to know just how to get under Dipper’s skin. He had never had a conversation with him that didn’t end in Dipper being mad and he hated that Cipher interupted class. He was just obnoxious and Dipper was mad that he had classes with him again this year. But, there wasn’t much he could do. Dipper had never been very good at making friends. All through high school he really only had one. But boy was she more than enough to handle.<br/>
Wendy didn’t listen to what others said and made decisions based on her own experience, and for that Dipper was grateful. He was grateful someone even gave him the time of day, honestly. At first, that gratefulness had manifested itself as a crush on the older girl, but after about a year, he had realized that having her for a friend was enough, so his romantic feelings for her had died. But this year he didn’t have her companionship as she had graduated and gone to a fancy 4 year college outside of Gravity Falls. He was happy for her, he really was. But now he was back to square one and he hated to admit it but he felt a bit alone with no one to talk to throughout the day.<br/>
Dipper, unfortunately, wasn’t able to think much more on his red headed friend as his teacher had just entered the room and was attempting to make Bill and his group quiet down. They complied for the most part, but every now and then Dipper could overhear them talking quietly behind him. He just rolled his eyes. Leave it to Cipher to ruin his Senior year by being in his computer class. Figures.<br/>
“For the last time, Cipher, if I have to tell you to settle down any more, you’re getting sent to the office,” the teacher threatened three quarters of the way through class. It appears as though Bill just couldn’t keep his mouth shut for more than 5 minutes.<br/>
“Sorry Mr. McGucket. I promise, it won’t happen again. Do go on,” Cipher replied, smirking and not meaning that apology in the slightest.<br/>
A sigh came from the teacher. “As I was saying,” Mr. McGucket continued over Bill and his friend's laughter.<br/>
The rest of class passed without too much incident, Dipper only heard light snickering from behind him. When the bell rang, Dipper was the last one out, staying behind to talk to his (only slightly) odd teacher before moving onto his next class, which turns out to be a favorite elective of his, Astronomy.<br/>
Unfortunately Bill also has this class with him but after this and lunch, he’d be free for his last period, Government. So he walked to class, passing Mabel and waving to her and her friend Candy before continuing down the hallway. It wasn’t super far to the room, but he was immediately aggravated as he turned into the doorway and saw Bill sitting in his spot in the front of the classroom. So he marched to the seat and simply stood there until Bill decided to notice him.<br/>
“Well, well, well, if it isn’t my favorite Pine Tree.” Bill's condescending grin spread across his face and if Dipper were a fighting man, he’d have half the mind to knock some of Bill’s too-white teeth out of his skull.<br/>
But he wasn’t, so he simply stated, “You’re in my seat.”<br/>
Bill put a hand over his chest in fake shock. “Oh my goodness, you mean this is your seat? I hadn’t realized. Well, I’d be inclined to give it back, really, I would. Except, I have already gotten comfy and it really would be a shame to get up once I’ve already made myself comfy.” He reclined as much as he could in the chair, throwing his hands behind his head.<br/>
“Get out of my seat, Bill.” Dipper would have been angry if he had the energy to deal with Cipher’s bullshit but he really didn’t. He just really wanted to sit down.<br/>
“Oh but see, this class doesn’t have assigned seats and I really just wanted a change of scenery.” Bill didn’t even have the decency to look at Dipper in the eye when he spoke that time.<br/>
“Bill, you know I always sit there. Just stop messing with me and let me fucking sit.”<br/>
“Language, Mr. Pines,” his teacher said as she strode into the room, sliding her glasses up her nose. “And Mr. Cipher, move back to your seat.”<br/>
Bill sighed and rose from the desk. “Of course.” He bowed grandiosely and it made Dipper roll his eyes. “My apologies, Ms. Devlin.” He turned and patted Dipper’s cheek smugly, Dipper swatting at his hand.<br/>
“And stop harassing Mr. Pines,” she added, settling in at her desk.<br/>
Bill didn’t reply to her and simply went back to his usual spot, his friends laughing as he approached them. After class had gotten under way, Dipper mostly forgot about Bill and his friends. Ms. Devlin didn’t tolerate any tomfoolery and Cipher knew that, usually keeping his antics to before and after her class. But all good things must come to an end and eventually, the bell rang for lunch. As everyone filed out of the classroom, Bill and his buddies first, Dipper thanked Ms. Devlin, then slipped on his headphones. Being the last one out of the room, he was in the back of the herd for this lunch period and ended up waiting in line for about 10 of the 30 minutes he had for lunch to get food.<br/>
Once he had been served his usual salad and water bottle, he went and sat down with his sister and Grenda. Candy was in the lunch period before theirs so there was only ⅔ of the trio present. He took off his headphones and started to eat.<br/>
“So, Bro-bro, how’s your day been so far? You look even more exhausted than you normally do,” his sister’s cheeriness always helped him feel a bit better, especially after a long two periods with Bill.<br/>
“I’m alright, classes are alright. Yunno, the usual. Just had to deal with extra Bill Bullshit today. He decided he’d like to sit in my seat in astronomy today,” Dipper explained, forking some leaves and stuffing them in his mouth.<br/>
“God I don’t know how you put up with him. If you’d just let me say something to him, maybe he’d leave you alone,” Mabel replied, munching on her fries.<br/>
Dipper grimaced. “Something tells me that he would probably find it hilarious that my sister was sticking up for me. Besides, he doesn’t need to start messing with you too. I can handle it, you don’t need that fuckery in your life.”<br/>
“Well,” Grenda interjected, “You could always let me have a go at him.” She punched a fist into her hand suggestively.<br/>
Dipper scoffed. “No, Jesus, I don’t need him in the emergency room. Honestly, it’s not so bad, he just likes to fuck with me. It’s nothing serious.” Neither of the girls said anything in return, they just exchanged a look with each other. It made Dipper want to change the subject. “But enough about that, any progress with that Fernando guy?”<br/>
Mabel’s eyes lit up and she launched into a serious talk about her plot to try and get the handsome Spaniard to date her. Dipper just smiled and rolled his eyes, leaning his head on his hand and listening to her ramble. He chimed in every now and then; Grenda did too, talking about her boyfriend in Austria and giving updates on him. After they had all finished eating, the bell rang shortly after and the small group got up from their table and walked out with the horde of teenagers. Dipper’s government class went by smoothly, he took a test and was fairly certain he had aced it.<br/>
So once Government had let out, he met up with his sister and said goodbye to her friends. Then, they climbed into the truck with Soos and headed home. They lived with their Great Unkles (“Grunkles” Mabel had so affectionately named them) Stan and Ford at their gift shop. Their parents had moved out of the country for a job offer their mother had been given. Not wanting to spend their Junior and Senior year in a totally new school, the Grunkles had been gracious enough to offer them a place to stay at the Shack, as long as they worked a couple hours in the gift shop after school during the week. Those terms were fine by the twins, that meant a little extra income and that they could graduate with their friends. Well, Mabel’s anyways.<br/>
Dipper was fine with not having many friends, he really was. He could spend hours out in the woods searching around for interesting things or curled up under a tree with a good book. He didn’t need other people to entertain him. And besides, Mabel was enough to handle as it was. He smiled as he thought of his sister; she had all of the social skills in the family, neither Stan nor Ford liked social interaction much either. So he was content alone, his sister and Grunkles were the only friends he needed, besides Wendy and Soos of course.<br/>
Once they got to the Shack, Dipper and Mabel put their things down in their respective rooms (they used to share, but after growing up a bit, they decided that separate rooms were for the best) and got to work at the Shack for about 4 hours. Dipper led small tours and tidied the shelves, Mabel ran the register and greeted all the customers. It was an easy flow they had established quickly after starting to work here. After their slow shift, Soos took over the Shack for the final few hours and the twins went to the kitchen to do homework, while Stan got busy making dinner. Ford was probably downstairs in the basement, but he always came up to have dinner with everyone, as did Soos once he had closed up the gift shop. They talked about their day and everything going on, Stan teased Mabel about Fernando and Ford talked with Dipper about his latest invention or concoction. Soos would tell everyone about shenanigans he witnessed at the daycare he worked at in the mornings and everyone would laugh. It was familial and wholesome and Dipper appreciated his family probably more than most kids his age. He knew he had it pretty good and was grateful for them most of the time.<br/>
The key words there are most of the time. Right now was one of the times he wished he could put a pillow over Mabel’s head and hold it until she stopped kicking. She had come bursting into his room while he was quietly reading and started talking about how Fernando had just requested to follow her on her spam account and she was freaking out saying how big of a deal that was. Dipper at first had amused her but now he just really wanted to get back to his book and God, why won’t she just leave already. I’m so tired of hearing about Fernando.<br/>
And so, the weeks passed like that, Dipper dealing with Bill’s bullshit and enjoying his family's company every night. His life was pretty mundane, fall was in full season and the chilly Oregon air was enough for Dipper to be wearing a jacket in October. But at the end of the month (the final day to be exact), Mabel got invited to Fernando’s Halloween party. While the twins didn’t particularly attend parties, Mabel simply couldn’t pass up the opportunity and decided it was worth it.<br/>
“Besides,” she had said, “You need to get out more.”<br/>
“Pssh, I get out plenty. I’m outside all the time! Just the other day-” Mabel cut him off.<br/>
“Getting out more is not going outside, Dipper! You need to make friends! You need to meet people!” She was spinning around the room in her costume (a fairy princess is what she was going as this year) and watched as her flowing white dress twirled around her.<br/>
“Mabel, I’m perfectly happy right now. I have you, I have Grunkle Stan and Ford,” he said, straightening the tie on his James Bond costume (really it was just a fancy suit but he didn’t want anyone making fun of him if he went as the Fairy Prince Mabel had suggested).<br/>
“Name someone outside of the family that you’re friends with,” Mabel said, exasperated.<br/>
“I’m friends with Soos!”<br/>
“Dipper, he’s here literally every day.”<br/>
“Well I’m also friends with Wendy.”<br/>
Mabel threw her hands in the air, “She’s not even in this state! This is what I’m talking about, Dip’n’Dots, you don’t have anyone to hang out with!”<br/>
Dipper mumbled under his breath, “I don’t see how that’s your problem.”<br/>
She stopped prancing around the room and looked at him. “I just don’t want you to feel alone, bro, that’s all.”<br/>
Dipper smiled. “How could I ever possibly feel alone with a family like ours?”<br/>
Mabel smiled. “You got me there.” She looked him once up and down and then looked at herself in the mirror. “Well, I think we’re both ready to go. How do I look?”<br/>
Dipper rolled his eyes but grinned. “Marvelous! Magnificent! Positively radiant,” he exclaimed, striding across the room and offering his arm for her to hold onto. “Your highness.”<br/>
“Why thank you, good sir,” she said, giggling. She slipped her arm into his and he escorted her down the stairs where Candy and Grenda stood waiting.<br/>
“Ugh finally,” Grenda huffed in her medieval knight costume. “We thought you’d never come down.”<br/>
“Are you both ready to go,” Candy asked from behind her Babadook mask.<br/>
“Yes I think we are.” Dipper said, going to the door and opening it. “M’ladies,” he said as he bowed.<br/>
They all giggled and said thank you as they walked out the door and made their way to the car. Grenda was driving them tonight but Dipper opened the doors for all of them since that’s what he figured a good 007 would do. They made their way to Fernando’s house and talked amongst themselves on the way, Mabel excitedly nervous as Candy and Grenda hyped her up to shoot her shot at the party. Dipper just smiled and shook his head.<br/>
As they got to the house, Dipper once again opened the doors for all the girls and escorted Mabel into the house. But once they were in, Dipper encouraged his sister to go find Fernando and talked to him. She hugged him, kissed him on the cheek and then got swept into the small crowd that had amassed in the house.<br/>
It was a beautiful place, Dipper noticed. High arching ceilings, a relatively open floor plan and beautiful artwork hung on the walls. He had heard that Fernando’s parents were fairly wealthy but had never really cared enough to check into it for himself. He just figured it was cool of them to let Fernando have the party at their house.<br/>
Until a short while later when he realized that a lot of the kids were drinking beer and whiskey and whatever else they could find and realized that in all actuality, Fernando’s parents were probably not home.<br/>
Dipper just found a small corner and people watched, he had found some (non-alcoholic) soda and poured himself a glass, perfectly content with just observing. He spotted his sister with Fernando about an hour in. He was dressed as a merman and oh, he just knew Mabel would eat that up. And they seemed to be getting along swimmingly (hah, swimmingly), so he smiled to himself and continued to watch. About 20 minutes later, he saw someone arrive who made his eyes roll almost to the back of his head.<br/>
Standing in the door was none other than Bill Cipher, the tall, slender man had dressed up as what appeared to be the Illuminati poster boy with a black suit accented with a gold colored jacket with coat tails down to his calves. Dipper tilted his head and supposed it did go with the boy’s hair, which was blonde up top with a black underneath. It accented his sun kissed skin beautifully. Dipper shook his head.<br/>
Leave it to the pretty boy to dress up as something so ridiculous.<br/>
As soon as Cipher entered, a flock of people surrounded him as he made his way to the kitchen (to the alcohol Dipper thought). With Cipher in the other room now, Dipper went back to observing and found Grenda and Candy dancing with a few other kids on the makeshift dance floor. He smiled. Taking a sip of his soda, Dipper pulled out his phone and opened Instagram, just scrolling through for a few minutes.<br/>
Dipper barely saw him approach until his phone was taken swiftly from his hand. Dipper whipped his head up and wasn’t shocked when he saw Bill Cipher standing in front of him, looking at Dipper’s phone.<br/>
“What are you up to, Pine Tree?” Bill asked, obviously a few drinks in already.<br/>
“Give me back my phone Cipher. I’m not gonna ask you twice,” Dipper growled.<br/>
BIll paused and considered it before tossing the phone back to Dipper. “Eh, it’s not worth it. Nothing interesting on that thing anyway.” Bill moved next to Dipper then, slinging his arm around his shoulder.<br/>
God if Dipper couldn’t stand anything it was unwanted touching.<br/>
“Get the fuck off me, dude,” Dipper said, squirming.<br/>
“Oh relax, Pine Tree I’m not gonna bite. I just wanted to see what you were up to.” Bill released him though, throwing his hands up in mock surrender.<br/>
“You don’t even like me and to be 100% clear, I don’t fucking like you either so leave me alone,” Dipper stated, wanting this encounter to be over.<br/>
“Oh, you wound me! I do like you Pine Tree. How could I not,” he asked, grabbing one of Dipper’s cheeks and pinching it. “You’re so cute when you get mad.”<br/>
“Fuck you, Bill,” Dipper snarled, slapping the man’s hand away.<br/>
Bill smiled slyly, “Only if you want to, Pine Tree.”<br/>
Before he could promptly tell Bill off, Dipper heard his sisters voice enter the conversation. “Hey! Dip-Dip! How’s it going over here! Making friends?” Mabel materialized out of the sea of teenagers to save him.<br/>
“Oh yes, in fact. We were just having a lovely conversation, dear. How nice of you to join.” Bill’s eyes landed on Mabel and looked her up and down. If Dipper hadn’t been mad before, he definitely was now.<br/>
Mabel visibly gagged. “Well, sorry to break it up but I need my brother for a moment so, we’ll just be going.”<br/>
Bill pouted. “Aw, I guess that’s alright.” As the twins turned to go, Bill added, “Hate to see you go but love to watch you leave, Pine Tree!”<br/>
Mabel led her brother outside and away from the man in black and yellow. Dipper was seething. “He’s such a fucking asshole! Did you see the way he looked at you? Oh my God I wanna kill him. I’m gonna kill him! I’m gonna knock his fucking teeth in!” Dipper was yelling in the otherwise quiet yard.<br/>
“Dipper, calm down it’s ok. You don’t have to deal with him now. Plus, he also made comments about you so, I think it’s just the alcohol. Nothing to worry about.” Mabel was trying to talk some sense into him (and prevent a murder).<br/>
“God he’s such a slimy little weasel! I can’t stand him!” Dipper was still angry but cooling down now that he was outside and away from the situation.<br/>
“Well, you do look good in that suit,” Mabel commented. Dipper gave her the side eye.<br/>
“Not helping.”<br/>
She raised her hands up in surrender. “Just saying.” After a few moments of silence and Dipper taking some deep breaths, she continued. “Also, just so you know, I’m going home with Grenda and Candy. I think we’re gonna spend the night at Candy’s place.”<br/>
Dipper nodded. “Okay, sounds good.” He smiled knowingly. “How’d it go with Fernando?”<br/>
Mabel squealed and hit him on the chest. “SHH!! Don’t jinx it,” she exclaimed quietly. She whispered to him next, “It went really well. We got each other’s snap and he seemed really interested.”<br/>
Dipper smiled. “See? I told you it would work out. He seems like a nice guy. He’s pretty handsome too,” he added, wiggling his eyebrows.<br/>
Mabel squealed again. “Agh, I know! Did you see that costume he was wearing? God, he is a total babe! That tan skin and long hair-”<br/>
“Mabel,” Dipper interrupted, “Keep it in your pants.”<br/>
She laughed. “Yeah sorry, he just looks really nice tonight.”<br/>
“Well, if it makes you feel any better, you look absolutely amazing too. You guys will be the new power couple of Gravity Falls High School.” His sister beamed up at him in response. “Oh, and thank you. Yunno, for saving me from Bill.”<br/>
She put her hands on her hips. “Any time Broseph! Just say the word and I’ll sick Grenda on him!” They both laughed at that.<br/>
“I’ll keep that in mind. But for now, you should go back inside, I’ll be ok. Plus, I think someone is looking for you.” Dipper looked past Mabel where he spotted Fernando standing on the deck, waving sheepishly at them. Mabel looked back at him and then again to her brother.<br/>
“Wish me luck!” She turned back towards her love interest and Dipper called after her.<br/>
“Knock ‘em dead, sis!”<br/>
As he watched them go back inside, he smiled and then took a seat on one of the outdoor tables by the pool. There were a few people milling about but it was a bit chilly so most of them were inside. Dipper scrolled through his phone for a while more until a noise brought his attention away and towards the side of the house.<br/>
He saw a flash of yellow and his stomach dropped momentarily, recognizing it at Bill’s jacket. But it appeared as though Bill was with someone.<br/>
“Oh?” Dipper’s curiosity was piqued. He didn’t get a chance to see who the other person was.<br/>
Bill would probably be furious if he caught Dipper eavesdropping but he couldn’t help himself. For once, he wanted to have some information on Bill. Something he could throw in his face next time the little slimeball wanted to pick on him. So, he got up quietly and made his way to the side of the house that he saw Bill disappear behind. As he inched forward, holding his breath, he turned his head so he could listen to what was happening.<br/>
At first, it sounded like the two of them were kissing (Dipper inwardly wretched). There were small moans coming from the side of the house and Dipper was torn between being disgusted and laughing. But then he heard Bill speak.<br/>
“Wait, wait,” he slurred, obviously drunk. “I don’ think we should. C’mon le’s jus’ go back to the party.”<br/>
“Oh no, no, no,” said a deep, male voice. Dipper’s hair stood on end at the response. “You don’t get to be a little tease and then expect me to just stop because you don’t feel like it.”<br/>
Dipper barely poked his head around the corner and saw the bigger guy pinning Bill to the side of the house. Bill was trying to push him off but could barely even stand on his own.<br/>
“Stop,” Bill said breathily. “I don’ wanna.”<br/>
“Oh that’s ok, sweetheart. I’ll make you want it.” Dipper watched as the other man started to assault Bill’s neck with his mouth and saw Bill squirming under his grasp. Dipper felt a surge of disgust wash over him and then a wave of courage. He stormed from behind the building to where Bill and the other man were.<br/>
“Hey, what’re you-” the man didn’t even get to finish his question before Dipper’s fist connected with his jaw. The man stumbled back and before he could catch his footing, Dipper punched him again in the gut and then kicked him in the groin for good measure. He saw the man crumble to his knees, clutching his goods.<br/>
“You’re fucking disgusting human. How dare you,” Dipper spat, his voice like venom. “Don’t try that shit again. Ever. And don’t try to stop me or I will call the cops on you.” Dipper watched as the man could only nod and then looked back at Bill who had collapsed to the ground.<br/>
Dipper sighed and went over to him. “Bill,” he asked, “Can you hear me?”<br/>
“Hm?” Bill hummed, looking at him with half lidded, glassy eyes.<br/>
“Bill, where do you live?” Dipper asked, a tad exasperated.<br/>
Bill’s head bobbed. He watched as Bill turned to the side and vomited. He shook his head. “Great. Alright, Bill. C’mon.” Dipper sighed, hoisting the slender man up and supporting his weight with his shoulders.<br/>
Fantastic, he thought. He brought Bill out to the front yard, practically dragging him. He set him down on the grass and dug in his pocket for his phone. Dialing Mabel, he put his phone up to his face and waited for her to pick up.<br/>
“Hey, bro-bro, what’s up,” she answered.<br/>
“Just wondering, have you guys left yet?” Dipper looked down at Bill’s slumped form.<br/>
“Yeah, we left about 15 minutes ago. We’re almost at Candy’s house. Everything ok?”<br/>
“Yeah, all’s good. I, uh, just wanted to check in with you. I’m going home now though.”<br/>
“Ok sounds good. You got a ride?”<br/>
“Yeah, I’ll just call a cab, no worries.” He watched as Bill vomited again and rolled his eyes.<br/>
“Alright, I’ll see you tomorrow bro-bro. I love you!”<br/>
“Love you too, Mabes. Night.”<br/>
“Goodnight,” came her enthusiastic response, then the line went dead.<br/>
Once he was finished on the phone with his sister, he called a cab which picked them up in less than 10 minutes. He dragged Bill into the cab with him and told the cabbie his address. He got an odd look after the driver saw Bill’s condition. After explaining that Bill was too drunk to tell him his address, the driver shrugged and headed out of the neighborhood.<br/>
It was about 2 in the morning when they arrived back at the Shack. After paying the driver, Dipper practically carried Bill into the house as quietly as he could, not wanting to wake his Grunkles. He dragged Bill up the stairs, the man’s legs hardly any help. Once he got upstairs, Dipper went to his room and set Bill down on his bed. After tucking the mumbling young man in, he went downstairs and got Bill a glass of water and some Tylenol, setting them on the nightstand next to his bed. Taking one last look at Bill, making sure he was alright, Dipper pulled his trash can over next to the bed and grabbed a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt for Bill to wear in the morning and a pair of pyjamas for himself for the night. Making sure everything was situated, Dipper left, closing the door behind him.<br/>
He dragged himself down the hall towards Mabels room and once inside, he changed out of his suit and then pulled on the boxer briefs and old t-shirt. He sighed. Of course he was the one who had to intervene for Bill. Knowing his luck, Bill would probably be mad that Dipper cost him getting laid.<br/>
“Whatever, what does he know. He’s drunk.” Dipper muttered to himself, crawling into his sister’s bed.<br/>
Sleep came quickly to Dipper, after being up early that morning for school, then having to deal with Bill’s situation and then getting him back to his place. He was exhausted. So he was thankful that his body let him sleep in until 10 am. When he woke up he was mildly confused until he remembered what had happened last night. He groaned and figured he should check on Bill. As he sat up he felt his back pop and took some time to stretch and crack his back and neck properly, getting very satisfying noises from them both. Rolling his shoulders, Dipper got up from the bed and padded his way out the door and down the hall to his room.<br/>
When he opened the door, his nose immediately smelt vomit and it made him want to gag. “Please just tell me he made it into the trash can,” he muttered to himself, walking towards Bill. Luckily, he had, Dipper didn’t see any mess on his floor or his bed.<br/>
He heard a soft groan and saw Bill’s arm lazily come up to block the light coming through Dipper’s window from hitting his sensitive eyes. Dipper smirked.<br/>
“Morning sunshine,” Dipper quipped, a bit louder than usual.<br/>
Bill grimaced but said nothing.<br/>
“How are you feeling this fine, sunny morning,” Dipper added, enjoying Bill’s very apparent discomfort.<br/>
“Shut the fuck up, please, I’m dying over here,” came the pitiful response from Bill.<br/>
Dipper’s grin widened. “Just giving you a wake up call. Rise and shine sleeping beauty.”<br/>
Bill’s face contorted into a confused grimace. “Pine Tree,” he muttered, confused. He lifted his arm off his eyes only slightly and looked over at Dipper. He then looked around the room and down at himself. “Did we,” he trailed off.<br/>
Dipper chuckled. “Fuck? No, we didn’t. I-” Dipper paused. Was he supposed to tell Bill what happened last night? “Uhm,” he said instead, “How much of last night do you remember?”<br/>
Bill’s head squished back down into the pillow beneath him, his arm draped over his eyes once more. “I uh.. I remember taking way too many shots inside with everyone. And then I think… Well, I think I went outside with someone but I don’t really remember. Why, did I do something stupid?” Bill looked like he was grinning almost.<br/>
Dipper rubbed the back of his head. “Well, you definitely went outside with someone. A big guy. Do you remember who he was,” Dipper asked hesitantly.<br/>
“I don’t know,” Bill replied, eyes screwed shut as he reached for the glass of water. He took a small sip and then another slightly larger one before saying, “I think it was someone’s brother? I don’t think he went to our school. Doesn’t matter, what happened? Did he and I have sex,” Bill asked, almost nonchalantly. Dipper almost made a quip but decided it wasn’t worth it.<br/>
“Well. He certainly wanted to. But you uh, you didn’t.” Dipper waited to see if Bill would catch on. He saw the cobwebs clearing and the wheels turning in Bill’s head.<br/>
“Go on,” Bill said, quietly.<br/>
“Well I saw you guys go back there and I uh. Well I followed you, I was curious.” Bill raised an eyebrow at Dipper as he downed the painkillers with a gulp of water. Dipper made a face. “I wasn’t being a creep, yunno.”<br/>
“Sure you weren’t.”<br/>
“Anyway,” Dipper punctuated, continuing on with his story,” At first you guys were just kissing I guess. But then I heard you say to stop and he wouldn’t stop. So I poked my head around and saw you were piss drunk and this guy had his hands all over you so I uh. I shooed him off.” Dipper paused, waiting for Bill to say something. He was sure he’d be mad but instead Bill just stared at him, blankly. So, Dipper continued. “I tried to ask you where you lived but you were practically gone by then so I called a cab and now you’re in my room.”<br/>
Bill was silent and was looking at the floor.<br/>
Dipper suddenly felt like he needed to explain himself, so he started rambling. “I’m sorry if I overstepped, I just thought about if that were Mabel and I just, I don’t know what came over me. I don’t even know why I intervened, you might like it rough, I don’t know. Not that I think about those things but-”<br/>
“Thank you.”<br/>
Dipper stopped.<br/>
“Huh,” was all that Dipper’s body could manage.<br/>
“I said thank you,” Bill replied, raising his head slowly to look at Dipper. “You didn’t have to help but you did. I’m frankly, a little embarrassed but if you hadn’t,” Bill paused. “Well, let’s just be glad that you did something. Thank you.” Bill repeated. Then, he looked at Dipper’s slightly red knuckles, seeing the small scabs that had formed. He smirked.<br/>
“How, exactly did you ‘shoo’ the guy off of me,” Bill asks, half looking curious and half looking cocky.<br/>
Dipper blushed and tried to hide his hands. “Well yunno. Just basic, uh, shooing techniques. Nothing special,” he sputtered, almost face palming at his own response.<br/>
“Uh huh,” Bill said flatly, yet smiling.<br/>
Dipper cleared his throat. “There’s some sweatpants and a t-shirt there for you to change into. I think they’re your size. You can take as long as you need, I’ll be downstairs making some breakfast. There’s probably already coffee made if you want some,” he finished awkwardly. “I’ll uh, leave you to it. Also, can you clean out the trash can?” Bill nodded, still smiling and Dipper scurried out of the room, closing the door behind him.<br/>
He heard Bill chuckling as he left and blushed in embarrassment. But, he did as he said and went downstairs and prepared a small breakfast of french toast, sausage and eggs. He wasn’t sure if Bill could stomach that but Dipper was hungry too and damn if he couldn’t go for some french toast right about now.<br/>
About 20 minutes later, Bill appeared in the kitchen. He looked around for a moment before asking, “Mugs?”<br/>
“In the corner cabinet, second shelf,” Dipper said, taking the last batch of french toast out of the pan and setting it onto a plate.<br/>
“Thanks.”<br/>
They were silent as they moved about the kitchen. Bill grabbed himself a cup of coffee and then sat at the table, quietly sipping out of his mug.<br/>
“If you want cream it's in the fridge. Sugar is next to you on the table,” Dipper stated, setting the sausages into the pan and watching them fry.<br/>
“That’s alright, I like it black. Besides, this view is sweet enough for me,” Bill quipped. Dipper turned his head and saw Bill staring at him while he was cooking at the stove. He blushed hotly but convinced himself it was the heat from the pan.<br/>
More silence filled the kitchen as Dipper continued to fry the sausage and Bill sipped his coffee. Eventually, Dipper felt the eyes move from him to the window. He looked back and saw Bill admiring the flowers in the pots hanging outside.<br/>
“The flowers are beautiful. Do you maintain them?”<br/>
Dipper shook his head, “No, Mabel does. She has a whole garden outside, she loves flowers. But I will admit, they are beautiful. She does a good job with them.”<br/>
Bill hummed in agreement. He turned his gaze toward the door with the words “Shop Entrance” on it. “Do you run your own business,” Bill asked.<br/>
“Nah I just work in the gift shop for a couple hours after school. My Grunkle Stan owns the shop. But Grunkle Ford owns the house,” Dipper explained.<br/>
“Grunkle?” Bill’s tone was curious, if not a bit skeptical. Dipper smiled, he figured that would be his next question.<br/>
“Great Uncle,” Dipper replied. “It’s something Mabel came up with a few years back when we started living here.”<br/>
“Ah,” Bill said. “Where are they,” he asked, looking around.<br/>
Dipper pondered for a moment and checked the time before he flipped the sausages. He turned to face Bill and leaned against the counter next to the stove.<br/>
“I supposed Ford is probably in the basement tinkering with his toys,” Dipper saw Bill’s eyebrows shoot up in a surprised manner. “No, not in a sexual way. He’s an inventor.” Bill nodded in response. “And since it’s only about 10:45, I’d say Grunkle Stan is probably still enjoying his beauty sleep.”<br/>
“Mm. I wish that were me,” Bill said with a small smile.<br/>
“Aw come on. You don’t want a gourmet breakfast made by yours truly?” Dipper gestured toward himself. “You’re lucky it wasn’t Mabel who found you cause she’d be making you her famous Mabel Juice and trust me. That would just make things worse.”<br/>
“You know what, I’m not even going to ask what that is. I probably don’t wanna know,” Bill said, taking a gulp of his coffee.<br/>
Dipper nodded. “You don’t.” He turned his attention back to the sausages, checking to see that they were done. Once he transferred them to their own plate, he cracked some eggs into the pan. “How do you like your eggs,” he tossed the question over his shoulder.<br/>
“Fried is fine, chef. I like it a bit runny,” Bill retorted. Dipper could hear the smirk in his voice. So Dipper made 2 fried eggs for Bill and 2 scrambled for himself. He decided he’d leave the pan out in case Stan wanted to make himself some eggs. He didn’t want to make some and then let them get cold. So he retrieved 2 plates from the pantry and placed the eggs, a piece of sausage and 2 pieces of french toast on both. He set one down in front of Bill and one at his own spot, then went back to get some forks for the two of them, grabbing some syrup on the way.<br/>
“I don’t know if I can eat all this,” Bill said a bit hesitantly.<br/>
“I won’t be offended if you can’t,” was all Dipper replied with before dowsing his french toast in butter and syrup. He saw Bill watching him and said, “Clear syrup. Or better known as plain corn syrup. Way better than maple, and thicker too, so it doesn’t get everywhere. You want some,” he asked, holding the bottle out to Bill.<br/>
“Ah, no thanks. I actually like mine without syrup,” Bill said, cutting up his toast.<br/>
Dipper fake gasped. “You heathen,” he said incredulously.<br/>
Bill just shook his head in amusement and took a small bite. They both ate quietly, digging into their food. Just before Dipper had finished his meal, he heard his Grunkle Stan come stomping down the stairs. As he took in the sight in front of him, Stan just paused then went to make himself a cup of coffee. When he turned around, Dipper went to say good morning, but wasn’t able to get it out before Stan made his statement.<br/>
“So, Dipper. Who’s your boyfriend?”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>There's references and lines in here to/from a couple of different things. Enjoy picking them out if you wish.<br/>Also it appears as though this has gone from a 3 chapter deal to a 5 chapter deal. Whoops</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Dipper felt his entire face flush and his ears get hot. “Grunkle Stan!”<br/>
Bill laughed. “My name is Bill Cipher. It appears I had a bit too much to drink last night and your wonderful nephew was nice enough to nurse me back to health.” He looked between his half eaten plate of food then back up to Stan. “He’s a wonderful cook by the way.”<br/>
“Ah I see. And you’re right, he is! Got a knack for cooking just like me,” Stan replied proudly. He took another swig of his coffee.<br/>
“We-we’re not together! I just-”<br/>
“I heard him, kid, no need to explain.” Dipper closed his mouth. “Sheesh, with the amount of energy you put into that, one might think you’re compensating for something,” Stan teased.<br/>
Bill simply laughed as Dipper felt his face get impossibly redder. He rose from his chair and made his way across the kitchen, embarrassed. After putting his plate and fork into the sink, he excused himself awkwardly. As he scurried up the stairs, he heard his Grunkle Stan and Bill snicker and strike up small talk.<br/>
Dipper facepalmed and it made an audible smack. “Great, Dipper. Real smooth,” he muttered to himself, making his way to his room to get dressed. He figured it was a bit chilly outside this morning so he threw on a pair of jeans and a red, long sleeve shirt. Then he headed to the bathroom to freshen up. He contemplated showering but figured he’d just do that later and settled for brushing his teeth, trying to tame his unruly curls and rolling on some deodorant. Afterwards, he splashed some water on his face and patted it dry with a towel. Looking at himself in the mirror, he nodded at his reflection and maybe checked out his own ass a little longer than normal. Once he decided he looked good enough, he switched the light off and headed back downstairs.<br/>
He walked in on a scene he was certainly not expecting. Ford had apparently been lured up from the basement by the smell of food and was now arguing with Stan over the last piece of sausage. Dipper glanced over at Bill who was looking at him with pleading eyes.<br/>
“Help me,” he mouthed.<br/>
Dipper laughed which drew the attention of his Grunkle Ford.<br/>
“Ah, Dipper! My favorite nephew,” he said, trying to suck up. “Would you please tell my grumpy twin brother that he has eaten more than me which means that I deserve the last piece of sausage.” Dipper saw Bill watching them with curiosity.<br/>
“Tell my brother he’s dreaming if he thinks I’m gonna give up this little savory piece of heaven. I was here first, therefore it’s mine,” Stan retorted, holding the plate out of Ford’s reach.<br/>
He sighed. Not saying a word, Dipper strode across the kitchen and snatched the last piece of sausage from the plate, earning him an indignant, “Hey!” from both of his Grunkles. Setting it in the microwave with the remaining 2 pieces of french toast, he closed the door and looked at both his Grunkles, arms crossed over his chest.<br/>
“Nobody gets the last piece of sausage because I’m saving it for Mabel,” he stated, his tone that of a teacher scolding preschoolers.<br/>
Both grown men pouted while Bill snickered in the background.<br/>
“No fair, I can’t steal it from Mabel. She’s a girl,” Stan mumbled.<br/>
Dipper just grinned and shook his head.<br/>
“Shoo you vultures, shoo,” he waved them both off with his hands, the two older men retreating into the living room.<br/>
A quiet clap came from Bill’s hands at the table. “Way to go, Pine Tree,” he said, amused.<br/>
Dipper just rolled his eyes. “I gotta keep ‘em in line. Every now and then their sibling rivalry flares up.”<br/>
Bill looked thoughtful at that. “They’re twins like you and your sister, huh? Must run in the family.”<br/>
“I guess,” Dipper shrugged, then looked down at Bill’s plate. “You want the rest of that to-go or?”<br/>
Bill raised an eyebrow and smirked. “Trying to get rid of me already, eh?”<br/>
Dipper inwardly panicked for about .2 seconds. “N-no! I just uh, I didn’t want you to feel like I was keeping you here. You can stay as long as you like! I promise, it’s no big deal, really.” Dipper’s rambling was cut off by a small chuckle from Bill.<br/>
“You’re so cute when you’re flustered. Yes, Pine Tree, I’d love to have it to-go. I should be getting out of your hair anyway, you’ve been plenty generous.” He handed his plate to Dipper and he took it to the counter, grabbing a container to put the remaining food in.<br/>
“I just don’t want you to feel like you aren’t welcome. I mean, I know we aren’t exactly friends but I just. I don’t know,” he finished lamely.<br/>
“Well after last night, I’d consider you a friend.” Bill scoffed then. “None of mine seemed to care where I was. Guess I can be grateful that you were feeling a bit nosy huh?”<br/>
Dipper felt bad for Bill for a moment. “Well, I’m sure they just figured,” he paused, trying to come up with an excuse. “Maybe they were also drunk so they just didn’t notice.”<br/>
“Yeah maybe,” Bill said, not looking like he bought that in the slightest. Dipper frowned, missing the light hearted look that was usually on Bill’s face. An idea formed in his head and he set the container down on the counter then grabbed some scissors from a drawer.<br/>
“What’re you,” Bill started.<br/>
“Just wait here real quick. I’ll be right back.” Dipper dashed out the front door with scissors in hand and went over to the garden. He figured Mabel wouldn’t notice if just a few flowers were gone and besides, flowers usually made people smile right? He cut a few brightly colored flowers off their respective bushes and arranged them into a small bouquet. Then, he went back inside and grabbed a rubber band from another drawer in the kitchen in front of an inquisitive Bill. He fastened them all together and then approached Bill with his gift and his leftover food.<br/>
Bill was silent as he studied the flowers and their colors. He gave them a light sniff. “Thank you. But you didn’t have to, you know.” he said.<br/>
Dipper waved him off. “Don’t mention it. You said the flowers were beautiful anyway so, there you go, now you have a sample.” He stood in front of Bill as the seated man seemed to be considering something in his head. Dipper could see the wheels turning in his golden eyes and his heart rate picked up ever so slightly. “So uh,” he started, not sure what to say.<br/>
“I should be going, Pine Tree. But thank you for the gift. Maybe I’ll have to leave a review for you on Yelp. ‘Mystery Shack employee Dipper Pines the most hospitable host on planet Earth. Gave me flowers when I was sad. 10/10 would recommend,’” Bill said, jokingly.<br/>
Dipper chuckled and blushed a bit. “Nah, don’t even worry about it.” A pause. “Do you have a ride?”<br/>
“I’ll call a Lyft, don’t you worry your pretty little head,” Bill explained, rising from his seat at the table.<br/>
Now standing face to face, Dipper was acutely aware of Bill’s gaze from above him, his brown eyes locked onto gold ones. He took a step back after a touch too long of a moment and cleared his throat, the tension a bit too much for him. “Good. Great. Just making sure. Was, uh, was there anything else I could do for you,” he asked, a bit off kilter.<br/>
“You’ve done plenty for me already, Pine Tree, thank you,” Bill said, a small smile pulling at his lips. He lightly patted the top of his head and Dipper found it wasn’t quite as annoying as it usually was.<br/>
“Okay,” Dipper almost whispered.<br/>
Dipper went around the kitchen cleaning after that. Bill was still seated at the table, sipping his coffee. When Bill’s phone went off, Dipper jolted at the sudden sound.<br/>
“Ah,” Bill mumbled, taking a step back. Dipper had to have imagined the disappointment in Bill’s voice, right? “It appears as though my ride is here. Shame.” Bill looked at Dipper one more time and then continued toward the front door. “Thank you again for your hospitality. I’ll see you around Pine Tree,” he called over his shoulder as he walked out the door. Dipper simply stood and watched the car Bill got in drive down the gravel driveway. His mind was racing and blank all at once.<br/>
Dipper jumped again when he heard Grunkle Stan’s voice cut through the silence.<br/>
“You sure he’s not your boyfriend?”<br/>
<br/>
<br/>
“Woah, woah, woah. Back up Broseph,” Mabel said, hanging upside down off of her bed. Her hair was dragging across the wood floor. “You’re telling me that you, Dipper Pines, punched somebody? Not even just once but twice,” she emphasized, looking at Dipper with wide eyes.<br/>
“Well I told you what he was doing, you don’t think he deserved it?” Dipper inquired.<br/>
“Oh no no, he definitely deserved it. I’m just surprised is all. You aren’t really the fighting type.” She was toying with a strand of her hair, her phone tossed casually on the bed beside her. Dipper scoffed from his perch on her dresser.<br/>
“What, you don’t think I can handle myself?”<br/>
“Well…”<br/>
“Mabel!”<br/>
“What! You still scream when we watch horror movies! And, AND, I’ve literally had to kill bugs for you before.” Mabel pointed at him and narrowed her eyes. “You know I hate them just as much as you do.”<br/>
“Look, do you wanna hear the rest of the story or are you going to continue emasculating me,” Dipper asked, almost rolling his eyes. Mabel motioned with her hands for him to continue, mumbling her apology.<br/>
She stayed quiet as he told her how he let Bill sleep in his room that night and then recalled the conversation he had with him in Dipper’s room and then down in the kitchen. As he told her the full story from the morning, he noticed Mabel's grin getting wider and wider until he stopped talking.<br/>
“What,” he asked incredulously.<br/>
“What it’s not obvious?” She sat upright on her bed and threw her arms up into the air. “He likes you!” She paused and then continued, “And from what I’m hearing, it seems as though you might like him a little bit too,” She winked at him and Dipper felt his ears tinge red.<br/>
“Mabel come on, this is Bill. He’s been obnoxious and bitchy toward me for years. There’s no way after just one night of chivalry that he’s into me.” Dipper placed his hands on his hips and waited for her rebuttal.<br/>
She came back with, “Well maybe he’s liked you all this time but doesn’t know how to express his feelings in a healthy way so he’s been picking on you instead.”<br/>
Fuck, he didn’t have anything to say to that.<br/>
“Whatever,” he looked away, not wanting to admit that she had a point.<br/>
“And maybe that’s also why he is constantly trying to touch you too.” He looked up at her and she just shrugged, “I’m just saying, not everyone is as straightforward as you Dippin Dots. Sometimes people don’t know how to handle how they feel, especially dudes.” He shot her a look at that. “Just saying.”<br/>
He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Yeah I suppose you could be right.” He shook his head. “But even if you are, what am I supposed to do about it? I mean, I can’t just go up to him and tell him I’m into him, that’d just scare him off. I gotta be more subtle.”<br/>
She rolled her eyes at him. “Yeah, cause giving him a bouquet of flowers and a fancy breakfast is subtle.”<br/>
“Hey, I was just being a good host,” he defended.<br/>
“Whatever you have to tell yourself to sleep at night,” she stated nonchalantly. Her phone started buzzing and she squealed. “Ok ok, now shoo, it’s Fernando.” She fixed her hair a bit before smiling and answering his call. “Hey there my handsome merman, how can I help you today?”<br/>
Dipper made a gagging face toward her and she silently picked up one of her shoes and threw it at him. He blocked it and made obnoxious kissy faces at her. She just squinted her eyes and then turned her attention back to her newly acquired boy toy, talking animatedly with him. Dipper smiled and exited the room, quietly closing the door behind him.<br/>
Walking back down the stairs, he decided he’d ask Grunkle Ford to take a walk with him in the woods. It was a nice enough day outside and he figured the old man could use some Vitamin D after being in the basement for way longer than was probably healthy. Ford ended up agreeing, saying it would probably be good for him to get out. He patted Dipper on the shoulder and told him all about his game of D&amp;D that he had planned that night.<br/>
“Sounds like you’re gonna be busy for a few hours,” Dipper said, walking out the door with his Grunkle close behind.<br/>
“Oh most definitely. But I’m quite excited. The people in my group are delightful and I just love to get lost in that fantasy world.” Ford sighed. “Sometimes it’s easier than dealing with Stanley, that’s for sure.”<br/>
Dipper chuckled. “Come on, don’t tell me you’re still upset about the whole sausage thing. Mabel was grateful we saved her some food. “<br/>
Ford grinned and shrugged his shoulders. “I guess she was pretty happy, wasn’t she?”<br/>
As they walked through the forest in the cool afternoon, Ford would point out different plants and various animals, giving Dipper a brief description of each. Occasionally, he would stop, crouching down to look at something that had caught his eye. All in all, they walked for about an hour before deciding to head back to the Shack. A comfortable silence had fallen between them, both parties observing with reverence the scenery of the forest. Dipper was admiring the way the sun cut through the treetops, illuminating the yellow, orange and red leaves. They were quite beautiful. He sighed then, thinking back to his new found friend (could he count Cipher as a friend now?) and the tense exchange they had just before he left.<br/>
Ford looked over at his nephew and saw he was deep in thought. “Something on your mind?” Dipper looked over to him and then back ahead of himself.<br/>
“Nah not really. Nothing important anyway,” he said, shoving his hands in his pockets.<br/>
“Come now, Dipper. You seem troubled over something. Is it the boy that was here earlier today?”<br/>
Dipper blushed only slightly. “Is it that obvious,” he asked.<br/>
Ford laughed. “Not obvious but it was unusual.” He furrowed his brows then. “I didn’t know he existed until today but you seem to have a good report with him. How long have you been friends?”<br/>
Dipper just sighed. “That's the thing, Ford. We have never been friends. Matter of fact, he usually erks the crap out of me at school. He’s obnoxious! And yet today, this morning anyway, he seemed different. I just don’t know if that’s because he just acts like a jackass at school and is secretly nice or if he is really a jackass and just wanted to mess with me.” He looked back at his companion. “What do you think?”<br/>
Ford looked up in thought. “Well. To me it seemed as though he might just be putting up a front at school. I know you and Mabel act yourselves pretty much all the time - at least that’s what I assume. But not everyone is like that.” He paused. “Maybe he acts the way he does to compensate for something lacking in his life.”<br/>
Dipper huffed. “Even if your life sucks, you shouldn’t take it out on other people. Besides, I’m pretty sure his parents are rich, what could he possibly be missing?”<br/>
Ford just shook his head. “You don’t realize how good you have it, my boy. Not everyone has a family like yours. Stanley and I may not be your parents but we love you and Mabel like our own. And I do believe that you and Mabel have benefited from having each other as a support system just as much as Stan and I did.” He looked at Dipper sincerely. “Not everyone gets that. Just keep that in mind.”<br/>
Dipper mulled that over in his head for a while, silence once again falling over the two as they made their way back to the shack. Dipper thought about what could possibly be missing from Bill’s life.<br/>
Oh what the hell, he thought to himself, I don’t even know him that well. Why sit here and torture myself.<br/>
The rest of the walk back was filled with amiable conversation. Bill didn’t come up again and Dipper was slightly relieved. Bill made his head spin and Dipper hated not knowing what to think about someone, especially the person who had been a dick to him every day of his life except for today.<br/>
As they approached the shack, Dipper had a thought. “Ford,” Dipper asked hesitantly. His Grunkle turned towards him, giving Dipper his undivided attention. “Do you think it’s a good idea for me to give Bill a second chance?”<br/>
Ford smiled and put his hand on Dipper’s shoulder. “Forgiveness is never a weakness. Don’t be afraid to do what you think is right,” he said.<br/>
Dipper took it to heart and nodded. “Thanks.” He smiled a bit.<br/>
His grunkle smiled back, the afternoon light glinting off his slightly cracked glasses. “Anytime, kiddo.” </p><p><br/>
</p><p>The next few weeks, Dipper was… well for lack of a better word shocked. He had been ready to give Bill a second chance, sure. But he wasn’t expecting the outright niceness that radiated off of the other student since the weekend of the party. Aside from showing up the following day with the dish Dipper had given him completely cleaned, he had also left a beautiful bouquet of flowers on the doorstep with a note attached that read, “To Dipper, the most wonderful host”.<br/>
The gesture was appreciated but Dipper was not expecting what happened in the following weeks. Through the whole month of November, Bill kept quiet in each class he had with Dipper. He thought the teachers probably found it as strange as he did. Not once in Computers did Bill join in with his buddies in making a ruckus. Before Astronomy, Bill would idly chat with Dipper about his day or what his plans were for the weekend. Occasionally, Dipper would even find a coffee (with cream and sugar) on his desk waiting for him. And every day after his class, Bill would escort him to the cafeteria as if they had been friends for years, telling Dipper all about the class he had afterwards (which was Biology). Then he would hand Dipper some sort of desert, whether it be a muffin, a brownie, or some other confectionary delight and hug him (yes hug him!) before leaving.<br/>
Mabel had noticed it too. She never ceased to get a kick out of Dipper’s face when he would stroll into the cafeteria, a smile plastered on his face and desert in hand. At first she and Grenda would tease him about it, but as the weeks went on they started to get more used to it.<br/>
“So, what’d your boyfriend bring you today,” Mabel asked as he sat down at the table.<br/>
“A couple of cookies. And he’s not my boyfriend,” he added, digging into his salad.<br/>
“Coulda fooled me. Bill makes Fernando look bad and you guys aren’t even official,” Grenda quipped, snagging a fry from Mabel's plate and tossing it in her mouth.<br/>
“Hey,” Mabel exclaimed, guarding her plate. “First of all, hands off my fries, woman. Second of all, Fernando does plenty of nice things for me, he’s just not so over the top as Bill, that’s all.” She pouted a bit.<br/>
“Aw, come on, Mabel. Bill’s not my boyfriend-”<br/>
“But you want him to be,” Grenda interrupted.<br/>
“And,” Dipper continues, pointedly ignoring her comment, “Fernando is a great guy. There’s no reason to compare your relationship to anyone else’s.”<br/>
“Yeah I guess,” Mabel said, poking at her fries.<br/>
“Are you just gonna pick at your fries and not eat them? Cause if you’re not, I’d be more than happy to take them off your hands,” Grenda said, eyeing her friends fries hungrily.<br/>
“No, I’m gonna eat ‘em,” Mabel replied. She picked up a few and stuffed them in her mouth. “So are you guys excited for Thanksgiving Break?”<br/>
“It’s just a glorified long weekend,” Grenda retorted, rolling her eyes.<br/>
“Yeah but it’s time off from school. I’m excited! Dipper and I always have a huge feast,” she exclaimed, raising her arms above her head for emphasis. “There’s a huge turkey and a ham, a bunch of mashed potatoes, some green bean casserole,” Dipper interrupted her.<br/>
“The most delicious homemade mac’n’cheese,” Dipper said wistfully.<br/>
“Ugh, yes! The mac’n’cheese is to die for. Grunkle Stan makes it with like, cheddar, mozzarella, some-”<br/>
“Please don’t make me think of delicious mac’n’cheese right now guys,” Grenda complained. “I have to stomach this disgusting excuse for a burger somehow.”<br/>
Dipper huffed proudly. “Well, maybe if you guys ate a salad once in a while it wouldn’t be so bad. These are pretty good too.” Dipper smugly put some leaves and a small tomato in his mouth and chewed obnoxiously.<br/>
“No offense Dip, but I love rabbits, not rabbit food,” his sister said, taking a bite of her chicken sandwich.<br/>
“Suit yourself. You’ll regret it when you no longer have a teenage metabolism,” Dipper added.<br/>
Mabel rolled her eyes. “Dipper I will be a fabulous queen whether I weigh 130 pounds or 230 pounds. Get outta here with your bullshit.”<br/>
“She got you there,” Grenda said, grinning.<br/>
Dipper frowned. “Yeah yeah, don’t rub it in.”<br/>
After lunch, Dipper went to his class and found himself sketching deserts in the margin of his notes. He smiled to himself, hardly finding a reason to stop himself. Besides, he learned all he needed to know about the government by watching YouTube conspiracy videos.<br/>
Once his class ended, Dipper met up with Mabel again at the end of the day to go home with Soos. They were waiting for him to pick them up when he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned to see a wide smile on Bill’s tan face and Dipper couldn’t help but smile back.<br/>
“Hey Pine Tree, hey Shooting Star (he started greeting his sister with this nickname after he had noticed her trademark necklace). How was your day? You ready for Thanksgiving break?” Bill had all of his attention focused on Dipper and he could feel a warmth in his chest.<br/>
“I’m so ready for a break man,” Mabel replied. “But I’m even more ready for the amazing food!”<br/>
“That so?” Bill asked, looking at her inquisitively.<br/>
“Yeah! We always have the best food. No one in Gravity Falls - no, the whole world -  has better food than us on Thanksgiving,” she exclaimed happily. The boys chuckled.<br/>
“I don’t know about the world but, I do think it’s pretty good,” Dipper shrugged<br/>
“Ah, you’re too modest. I’m sure it’s as delicious as Mabel says it is,” Bill replied casually, hitting Dipper lightly on the shoulder.<br/>
“What are you going to do over break? Any plans with family?” Mabel asked<br/>
Bill went silent for a moment before replying. “No, not for me. Parents are out of town again, so it’ll just be me this weekend.”<br/>
Dipper’s heart sank a bit at the thought of Bill all alone on Thanksgiving but Mabel acted like she had just witnessed a car accident.<br/>
“What!?” she exclaimed, “You mean you’re gonna be all alone?” Bill just shrugged. “No way man, that’s unacceptable. Unacceptable I tell you!” She pointed at Bill and looked him directly in the eye. “You are coming to our Thanksgiving dinner, Bill.”<br/>
Dipper’s heart did a somersault but he wasn’t sure if it was because he was happy or panicked. Maybe a bit of both.<br/>
“Well I wouldn’t want to intrude-” Bill started. Mabel didn’t even let him finish.<br/>
“No, no intrusion. This Thursday, you’re invited to the Pines Thanksgiving dinner. You don’t even have to bring anything except yourself. Dinner starts at 6. Don’t be late.” She finished her dramatic order and Dipper was left smirking at Bill’s wide eyed stare. He looked at Dipper.<br/>
“Are you sure that’s alright,” he asked.<br/>
“Of course, Bill. You’re always welcome at the Shack.” Dipper decided to add a little bit more after Bill still didn’t look sure. He bowed his head a little in embarrassment. “Plus, it’ll be nice to see you over break too. I’d miss you otherwise.” Dipper looked up at Bill through his lashes and saw a smile spread over his face (and quite possibly a blush).<br/>
“Yeah,” Bill started. “Yeah that’ll be nice.” His usual sly smile returned and he winked at Dipper. “I’ll be sure to look extra ravishing for you, Pine Tree.” He looked at Mabel who was positively beaming. “Thank you for the invite. I will be there.”<br/>
She squealed and hugged Bill tightly. “Yay! I’m so looking forward to it!”<br/>
Dipper saw Soos’s truck pull up as the rotund man waved at them. “Well I guess this is our ride. See you Thursday?” Dipper looked at Bill with a smile.<br/>
He winked again. “See you Thursday.”</p><p><br/>
</p><p>Dipper was panicking. Why did he think this was a good idea? Why did Mabel invite Bill to dinner? Couldn’t they just have delivered him some food? Did he look ok?<br/>
“Dipper, calm down,” Mabel said, looking at her phone, “He’s gonna be here any minute, you don’t wanna be all sweaty do you?” His sister was sitting in the living room with him, giving Grunkle Stan the whole kitchen to work with. “Besides you look great! I’m sure he’ll appreciate the skinny jeans,” Mabel teased.<br/>
Dipper was pacing a hole into the carpet but he just couldn't sit still. “Not helping,” he commented. Ford popped his head into the room.<br/>
“I think your friend is here. I just saw a car pull up out front.”<br/>
Dipper pulled at his hair. “Okay. Thank you.” He continued to pace.<br/>
“Dipper!” Ford scolded. Dipper stopped and looked at him, wondering what he did to deserve such a tone. “Don’t be rude, go out and greet the boy,” he said.<br/>
Dipper sighed and felt his nerves continue to rise as he made his way to the front door.<br/>
“Hey Dipper!” he heard from the living room. He turned to find Ford smiling at him. “Relax, kid. It’s all gonna be fine.”<br/>
Dipper felt a little bit better at that. He took a few deep breaths and then opened the door. As he walked out front, he found Bill climbing out of his car, a dish balanced in his hands. Dipper smiled when he saw it.<br/>
“Hey there, Pine Tree,” Bill said happily.<br/>
“Hey yourself. You know you didn’t have to dress up right,” Dipper asked. Although to be honest, he appreciated the outfit Bill had on. He was wearing a pair of well fitting jeans, and a yellow dress shirt (the sleeves rolled up to the elbows) with a black vest. Bill’s hair was messy but purposely so, the product in his hair holding it up nicely. His shoes were shiny and black with a pointed toe and Dipper had to admit, he looked positively delicious in the evening light.<br/>
Bill smiled sheepishly. “I felt like I should look better than decent, considering the last time I came here I showed up drunk off my ass and then had to wear your clothes.” Then he smirked. “But you don’t seem to mind me wearing nice clothes, am I right?”<br/>
Dipper blushed. “Don’t flatter yourself,” he teased. He nodded toward the dish in Bill’s hand. “So what’d you bring?”<br/>
“Well I know Shooting Star said I didn’t need to bring anything but I felt it would be rude to show up here without some kind of offering. But I want it to be a surprise until after dinner. Hopefully you don’t have a whole lot of deserts already,” he questioned.<br/>
“Nah, just an apple pie.”<br/>
Bill grinned. “Perfect.” After a beat of silence with neither of them moving, Bill said, “Not that I don’t like gazing into those beautiful eyes of yours, Pine Tree, but I think we should go inside.”<br/>
Dipper broke from his trance. “Oh right, right. Sorry, yeah. Come on in, everything should be ready.”<br/>
He turned and led Bill inside the house. Everyone was excited to have someone new there, all greeting him with warm smiles and firm handshakes (a firm hug, in Mabel’s case). Once Stan had taken the dish from Bill and set it in the fridge, he asked Dipper to set the table.<br/>
“Is there anything I can do,” Bill asked, looking at Stan.<br/>
“No, you’re our guest,” Ford said, before Stan could reply. “You don’t have to worry about a thing. Go ahead and sit down at the table and we’ll be ready shortly.”<br/>
Bill obliged and sat down at an empty seat, Mabel already seated as well. Stan and Ford grabbed all the food and set it out on the table fashionably. Dipper grabbed all the plates and silverware and their fancy cloth napkins and set them up at each spot at the table. Bill smiled in thanks when Dipper set his plate down and he smiled in return.<br/>
Once everyone was seated, Stan announced a harty, “Dig in everyone!” and everyone started to pile food onto their plates. Bill sat back for a moment, Dipper guessed he felt out of place. Instead of saying anything, he reached over and picked up Bill’s plate.<br/>
“What'll it be,” Dipper asked him.<br/>
Bill looked as if he was going to say something at first but decided against it. After a brief pause, he spoke. “Can I get some turkey please?” Dipper obliged and put a few slices of the juicy turkey on Bill’s plate and continued to fill it with everything Bill asked for. Once he told Dipper that was all, he placed the plate down in front of Bill with a smile.<br/>
“Don’t be shy in this house,” Ford said. “Stanley will eat your share of the food if you don’t speak up.” Stan looked up from devouring a turkey leg and could do nothing but glare at his brother as the entire table giggled.<br/>
They went around the table, exchanging stories and enjoying each other’s company for the better part of an hour. Once everyone had had seconds (or in Stan’s case, thirds), everyone sat back in their chairs and took a breath.<br/>
“Well, Mabel,” Bill said, filling the small gap in conversation, “You weren’t exaggerating when you said that your family had the best Thanksgiving dinner in the whole world. I don’t think I’ve ever had food that tasted this good.”<br/>
Mabel beamed at him. “I told you! Grunkle Stan here can cook a mean meal.”<br/>
Stan shrugged. “Ah, it’s nothin’,” he said, waving off her compliment.<br/>
“She’s right Mr. Pines. It was absolutely fantastic. I think my parents really got the short end of the stick this year,” Bill said, still smiling.<br/>
“Please,” the older man grimaced, “Call me Stan. Or, if you really must, Mr. Stan. There’s three ‘Mr. Pines’ at this table,” Dipper’s grunkle said casually.<br/>
“Sounds like a plan, Stan,” Bill said. He made a face when he realized he accidentally rhymed.<br/>
“Ha, you’re a poet and you didn’t even know it,” Mabel said excitedly. Everyone else rolled their eyes.<br/>
“Yeah cause that never gets old,” Dipper mumbled.<br/>
“Hey!” she cried.<br/>
“Alright, alright,” Ford motioned for young twins to settle down. “Well, Bill, I don’t know what you usually do as a Thanksgiving tradition but here, we like to go around the table and say something we’re thankful for.” Bill nodded in response. “Now ordinarily, I wouldn’t want to put anyone new on the spot but since you seem to mean a lot to my niece and nephew, I’m going to have you partake in this family tradition. But, you can go last since you didn’t know this was coming.” Ford winked at him. “I’m not that cruel.”<br/>
Bill replied with a simple, “Sounds good to me,” and waited for the first person to go.<br/>
“Alright, alright,” Mabel spoke up. “I’d like to go first unless anyone has any objections.” When she was met with silence, she cleared her throat and stood up with a flourish, then tapped her fork on her glass a couple times.<br/>
Dipper leaned into Bill and whispered, “You don’t have to do any of that.”<br/>
Bill grinned. “Okay good,” he whispered back.<br/>
“Attention everyone, attention!” Mabel set her glass back down on the table and started. “This year I am thankful for the fact that me and my bro-bro over here are finally going to graduate high school. We have worked tirelessly for 4 long years and it’s about to pay off! Then, we can finally go out into the world and start our lives as adults,” she finished.<br/>
Everyone smiled and agreed.<br/>
“I don’t know if you kids qualify as adults just yet,” Stan mumbled jokingly.<br/>
“Stan,” the twins and Ford drawled.<br/>
“Ruining the moment,” Bill added, grinning. Stan rolled his eyes in mock annoyance.<br/>
“This year,” Ford started, rising from his chair as well, “I am thankful for another prosperous year for my business. I would also like to add that if all goes well, I will be retired by this time next year!” Ford smiled as the table erupted in cheers.<br/>
“Congratulations, Ford!” the twins exclaimed as he sat back down. Stan leaned over and mussed up his brother’s hair.<br/>
“Proud of you, Stanford. You finally made it,” he said, pride evident in his eyes. When he straightened up, he cleared his throat. “Well, not that much can compare to the previous announcement,” he paused and snickers sounded around the table. “This year I’m thankful that I was able to finally put together some deals to get Mystery Shack merchandise in the town's shops. Now, I won’t have to rely as heavily on the business coming through the shop directly.” He added after a small pause, “Plus it means more money.” Everyone rolled their eyes at the final comment but congratulated Stan on his achievement anyway.<br/>
Dipper looked to Bill a bit nervously, realizing it was his turn.<br/>
“This year I’m thankful that I made a new friend at school,” he glanced over at Bill who smiled back at him. “I’m also really thankful I was finally able to get stable wifi in the Shack for the first time ever.”<br/>
“Aren’t we all,” Mabel mumbled, making Bill and Dipper chuckle.<br/>
Once Dipper had sat down, Bill looked around and when he saw all eyes on him, he started.<br/>
“I know I’m new here and I know that my past with you guys,” he gestures to Mabel and Dipper, “Has definitely not been the best. But, I’m thankful that you all gave me a second chance. And I’m thankful for being invited to this wonderful family dinner, it is probably the highlight of my entire year so far. And I went to Hawaii last summer.”<br/>
Everyone laughed at his final comment and clapped once he had finished. Bill looked at him with a small smile and Dipper just couldn’t help the smile that plastered itself to his face. Once everyone had finished idly talking, the young twins got to work cleaning up dinner, while Stan and Ford went into the living room.<br/>
“Stan makes the dinner, we clean everything up, Ford makes desert and picks the movie for us to watch,” Dipper explained to Bill as he helped him load the dishes into the dishwasher.<br/>
“Yeah. Tonight, Ford decided on the movie R.E.D.” Mabel talked as she washed the table down and swept up the kitchen. “It’s about retired CIA agents who end up having to defend themselves against Secret Service agents who were sent to kill them for a mission they did in the past.”<br/>
“Sounds intriguing,” Bill commented.<br/>
“It is. But mostly it’s just a bunch of kick-ass old people,” Dipper said, loading the last few dishes into the dishwasher. After closing and starting it, he continued. “Let’s get in there so we can watch it.”<br/>
As they sat down and to watch the movie in the living room, Stan took the recliner while Ford and Bill took the couch on the other side of the room.<br/>
“We can’t have our guest sitting on the floor can we,” Ford had said, patting the spot next to him.<br/>
“It’s no problem, really,” Bill had tried to convince him it really was fine.<br/>
“Nonsense, come here. Sit, sit,” Ford insisted. Bill complied.<br/>
As they watched the movie, the whole group watched silently as Bruce Willis kicked ass on screen.<br/>
Occasionally, Dipper would look to make sure Bill was enjoying himself. Most of the time he found Bill staring at the screen but a few times, he turned to see Bill looking at him with a lopsided grin. Dipper would blush every time, turning back around to watch the movie. Mabel elbowed him once or twice, giving him a knowing look.<br/>
Once the movie had finished, Stan rose from his chair and announced it was time for desert.<br/>
“Ford has made his signature apple pie, perfect for a Thanksgiving dessert. And Bill, I understand you brought something as well,” Stan said.<br/>
“As a matter of fact I have,” Bill said, also getting up from his seat on the couch.<br/>
“Ooo, what is it,” Mabel asked, anxious for a good sweet treat.<br/>
“I have made my favorite dessert, an eclair pie. Hope no one is allergic to chocolate,” Bill said.<br/>
Dipper could feel his mouth start to water.<br/>
“Man I love eclair pie,” he said, practically tasting it already.<br/>
Bill grinned wolfishly. “Then I suppose we should go get some, eh?”<br/>
They all hurried into the kitchen to get desert, everyone getting a piece of both pies.<br/>
“Hot and cold desert. This is the best part of Thanksgiving,” Mabel said around a mouthful of apple and eclair pie.<br/>
After everyone had finished eating, it was about 9 p.m. Stan had excused himself to go to bed and Ford retreated down into the basement, wishing all the kids a good night and happy Thanksgiving. Once the older men had left, the teens sat in the kitchen, talking about their lives and swapping stories of dumb things they had done as children.<br/>
“You know, I used to really piss my babysitter off every time he came over,” Bill reminisced. “He was a grumpy old man. If I remember correctly, I think his name was Rick. But looking back at it, I think he was an alcoholic. That and I don’t think he liked kids very much,” he said, making Dipper and Mabel laugh.<br/>
“Why was he watching you then,” Mabel asked.<br/>
“Honestly, I think he liked having someone to ramble on to about his inventions and how  ‘the universe didn’t care about anyone’ and how he didn’t believe in love because it was ‘just a chemical reaction that happens in people’s brains’.”<br/>
“Well,” Dipper said, “He’s not wrong about either of those facts but even if love is just a chemical reaction, it’s still a powerful force to be reckoned with.”<br/>
“You got that right!” Mabel exclaimed.<br/>
“I agree,” Bill said, looking right at Dipper. It made him want to shift in his seat. Bill’s golden gaze was piercing and it felt like Bill could see right through him.<br/>
About an hour and a half later, Mabel announced her departure. “Well boys, as much fun as this is, I’ve got a phone date with Fernando so I’m gonna go. Gotta wish my man a happy Thanksgiving as well, yunno.” She got up from the table, said goodnight to them both, then headed up the stairs.<br/>
“Guess it’s just us then, huh,” Bill stated, looking over at Dipper.<br/>
“Guess so. You want anything to drink?” He moved to get up from the table. “A rum and coke is sounding pretty good to me right now.”<br/>
Bill looked at him quizzically. “Are you allowed to drink? Obviously I’m not against it, but I don’t want to be rude.”<br/>
Dipper shrugged. “The Grunkles don’t mind as long as we’re not rowdy and that we don’t go anywhere.”<br/>
Bill frowned. “Well I have to drive home so, probably not a good idea for me.”<br/>
“You can sleep here if you’d like,” Dipper offered, curious where this new streak of courage was coming from. “We have a spare bedroom. Plus, it’s not like it’ll be a new experience for you,” Dipper added, hopeful Bill would take his offer.<br/>
“Well, it'll still be a new experience. After all, I won’t be sleeping in your bed this time,” Bill quipped, smirking.<br/>
God I wish you were Dipper thought.<br/>
“So is that a yes?”<br/>
Bill looked up thoughtfully. “You making breakfast again?”<br/>
“I suppose I could.”<br/>
“Then by golly you got yourself a deal,” Bill said, smiling over at Dipper. “And if I could place an order, bartender, I’ll have a cranberry vodka spritzer.”<br/>
Dipper laughed. “I have no clue what that is but I’ll just mix some cranberry juice and vodka, if that’s fine with you.”<br/>
“That’ll do the trick,” Bill laughed as well.<br/>
Silence fell between them as Dipper made their drinks. He could feel Bill’s eyes watching him and he hoped to God that the pants he was wearing made his ass look as good as Mabel said they did.<br/>
“One cranberry vodka for the handsome devil in the black jacket,” Dipper called as he handed Bill his drink.<br/>
Bill grabbed his drink but to Dipper’s surprise, he grabbed his hand and pressed a kiss to the back of it. Dipper blushed a deep red, sitting down across the table from Bill and starting on his drink.<br/>
“You should always tip the bartender,” Bill said casually, like he hadn’t just made Dipper’s stomach explode into a million butterflies. Dipper could only admire Bill’s elegance as he took a drink from his glass.<br/>
“Not bad.”<br/>
“Thanks,” was all Dipper could manage before he took a long drink from his glass, enjoying the way the burn in his throat pulled him away from his rapidly beating heart. “So,” he started, setting his glass down, “Where is your family anyway?”<br/>
Bill scoffed. “Probably on some island sipping mimosas for all I know. They said it was a business trip but I highly doubt that.”<br/>
Dipper felt his heart tug a bit at that. “Do you have any other family in Gravity Falls?”<br/>
“Nah,” Bill said, taking another gulp of his drink. “I’m an only child and neither of my parents are the real familial type.”<br/>
“Oh,” Dipper said, hoping it didn’t sound as sad as he felt at that.<br/>
“Hey, it’s no big deal. I’m doing just fine. I mean, you gotta learn how to take care of yourself eventually.” Bill said it casually but Dipper could see the hurt in his amber eyes.<br/>
“Well, what are your parents like? How did they meet,” Dipper asked, hoping it wasn’t a touchy topic.<br/>
“Well, my mom is from Egypt. She met my dad while he was on a business trip there. They say it was love at first sight, and I believe it. They do work very well together. But, just because you’re a great couple doesn’t mean you’ll be great parents. My dad figured it was her job to raise me so he never helped and my mother grew to resent me for that I think.” Bill said it so nonchalantly, Dipper couldn’t imagine if that were him.<br/>
“I’m sorry,” was all he could manage.<br/>
“It’s alright. Truly it is, I’ve come to accept it. Just because they were bad parents doesn’t mean I can’t make a future for myself.” Bill nursed the last bit of his drink, looking down at his glass.<br/>
Downing the last of his own drink, Dipper moved to the seat next to Bill and put a hand on his arm.<br/>
“Well if it’s any consolation, I am thankful they had you.” Bill looked up at him with soft eyes. Dipper continued with a small smile. “Otherwise, I wouldn’t have met you. And you have no idea how much it would suck if Mabel were still harassing me to make friends,” he finished, making himself and Bill laugh.<br/>
“Well she does have her ways of getting what she wants,” Bill said, finishing off the last of his drink.<br/>
“Yes she definitely does.” Dipper looked down at Bill’s empty glass. “Would you like another one?”<br/>
“Only if you’re having one,” Bill replied.<br/>
“Another one it is.” Dipper grabbed Bill’s glass and got him a refill, adding two (large) shots of vodka to the glass with cranberry juice and two (equally large) shots of rum to his glass of coke. He turned back towards Bill and brought his drink to him.<br/>
“You wanna watch a show in the living room?” Dipper suggested. “You can pick.”<br/>
Bill got up and took the drink from Dipper’s hand.<br/>
“Yes, I think that’s a great idea.” They started walking to the living room when Bill added, “You might regret letting me choose though.”<br/>
Dipper chuckled as they sat down on the couch. Dipper picked up the remote and handed it to Bill.<br/>
“We got Netflix, Hulu and YouTube, take your pick.” Dipper watched as Bill navigated to Netflix and went to the search bar.<br/>
“Tell me Pine Tree, what do you know about Flat Earthers,” Bill questioned.<br/>
“Flat Earthers? You’re joking right,” Dipper said incredulously.<br/>
“Oh, but I’m not,” he said as he typed in his search. Once he had finished, Dipper watched as Bill clicked play on a documentary called “Behind the Curve” with a grin on his face.<br/>
For the next hour and a half, Dipper lost his fucking mind and Bill just laughed at him. By the end of it, Dipper felt like gouging his eyes out.<br/>
“How could anyone be that fucking stupid? And how could anyone say that the Earth is flat and then still have any shred of dignity,” Dipper said, heading back to the kitchen because he needing a fucking drink after that shit show.<br/>
He was only buzzed at this point, feeling good enough to just pour himself a shot (vodka this time) and not have to mix it with anything to get it down.  Bill followed him into the kitchen and they each took 2 more shots before deciding they had had enough for the night.<br/>
“Don’t want Grunkle Stan to be mad that we drank all ‘is liquor,” Dipper said as he put it away. He could feel the alcohol working its way through his system and laughed when he accidentally tripped over his own feet.<br/>
“Yeah, I s’pose not,” Bill said, equally inebriated. They both sat at the table in the kitchen. Dipper got them each a glass of water and only spilled it a little on his way over to hand it to Bill. “Heard water makes it less likely to have a hangover,” he explained, giggling to himself.<br/>
“Whatever you say, Pine Tree,” Bill replied, taking a sip of his water.<br/>
“No, no, no. You gotta drink like, the whole thing, dude,” Dipper said, leaning on the table far too much than was necessary.<br/>
“I got it, don’t even worry ‘bout me,” Bill said, attempting to drink water but spilling some on the table.<br/>
Dipper cracked up laughing. “Do you need some help over there?”<br/>
Bill sneered. “Like you’d do so much better than me at this point.”<br/>
Dipper took his glass and said, “Watch me.” He took a giant gulp of water before setting the glass down on the table a bit harder than he probably should have. When he looked at Bill, he saw the blown pupils hiding a majority of those gorgeous golden eyes. Was that just because he was drunk? Bill leaned forward and extended his hand towards Dipper’s face. He sucked in a breath and watched Bill’s hand, hypnotized, as it came to rest on his cheek, his thumb running over Dipper’s thinly parted, wet lips.<br/>
“You’re so pretty,” Bill stated, meeting Dipper's gaze. Dipper flushed at the compliment but held eye contact.<br/>
“You’re not so bad yourself, Cipher,” Dipper said, feeling his lips move against Bill’s thumb.<br/>
Bill just hummed and then moved his gaze down to Dipper’s lips. Bill’s tongue darted out to lick at his own hungrily and Dipper shivered as he felt Bill’s hand move down his neck, gently. His touch was fire and Dipper felt goosebumps raise on his skin wherever Bill touched. He leaned into the hand, mind reeling. He felt himself lean in, half because he felt like he was losing his balance but the other half because it felt as though those amber eyes and parted lips were just drawing him in.<br/>
They both jolted when they heard the basement door open, Ford walking through. Bill jerked his hand back and they both sat up as straight as they could in their chairs, heart pounding. Ford just walked past them, not seeming to notice what he had almost walked in on.<br/>
“Alright boys, I’m gonna head off to bed now. Don’t stay up too late. Bill, since I’m fairly certain you’re spending the night, I’ll set you out a toothbrush in the hall bathroom.” He said from the first step on the staircase.<br/>
“Sounds good!”<br/>
“Thanks Ford!”<br/>
The two of them replied in unison. Ford just nodded and then headed upstairs.<br/>
Bill and Dipper looked back at each other once they heard Ford’s bedroom door close. They both burst out laughing, clutching their sides after a while, their laughter devolving into silent wheezes. After a few minutes, they were able to compose themselves, only small giggles remaining.<br/>
“Well, I suppose your Grunkle has a point. I’s a bit late. Maybe we should go to bed,” Bill slurred.<br/>
Slightly disappointed at that, Dipper hoped Bill saw the pout on his face. “Yeah, guess you’re right.” He stood up from the table and then helped Bill up as much as he could. “C’mon, ‘ll show ya to your room.”<br/>
“What a gentleman,” Bill replied, winking at him.<br/>
Dipper led them upstairs and down the hall to a room adjacent to his. “Here you are, my good sir.”<br/>
“Thanks, Pine Tree.” Bill smiled. “See you ‘n the mornin’?” he asked, hopeful.<br/>
“See ya ‘n the mornin’, Bill,” Dipper replied. He paused, the thought of kissing Bill seriously rolling through his head before he decided against it. He walked over to his own room and waved at Bill before disappearing behind the door.<br/>
<br/>
If Dipper heard strangled moans through the wall later that night, well then, that was just his imagination.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>So this one, fair warning, is gonna have some homophobic talk in it and then a mild panic attack. I would just like to give everyone reading a fair warning. </p><p>Also before anyone says anything, I actually do like Pacifica but she's not really important to the story so I made her a bitch, sorry.</p><p>Also also, the Vsauce video mentioned in here is what I use to put me to sleep when it eludes me and I'm not kidding it works every freaking time.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>After Thanksgiving break, things went back to normal for the most part. Or at least, the new normal. Bill still brought him a desert every day at lunch and they talked before and after what classes they had together. Dipper had noticed though, that since that night Bill had opened up about his family, he started to talk about things other than superficial chatter. <br/>He would talk to Dipper about things that were going on at his home, he would ask Dipper about his family. Slowly over the month of December, Bill and Dipper got closer as friends. They were hanging out after school more and more. Bill started to be at the Shack almost every day. So much so that he would even help out around the house when the twins were working in the gift shop. <br/>“Since I’m over here all the time, I may as well be helpful,” he always said, then proceeded to do chores that frankly no one liked to do. He would do the dishes, vacuum around the house, clean bathrooms. Dipper felt bad that Bill thought he had to do it but Bill always insisted that he wanted to so Dipper let him. <br/>Stan was all for it since it gave him more time at the end of the day to relax in front of the tv before making dinner. Soos loved it too. Now he had a new helper to show how to be a handyman. At first Dipper would laugh when he saw the deer in the headlights look Bill had whenever Soos showed him how to do something. But eventually, Bill would figure it out and so far, he was doing a pretty good job changing the lightbulbs and fixing leaky faucets. <br/>Ford took a while to adjust to it. The first few times he caught Bill vacuuming or taking out the trash, he would shoo him off, telling him it wasn’t his responsibility. But after about 2 weeks, he had caved. Now he only teased Bill about it halfheartedly, not really minding. It warmed Dipper’s heart to see his family just conforming to having an extra person around, no one complained or made Bill feel unwelcome and Dipper couldn’t be happier. <br/>Once the twins were finished with their shift in the gift shop, they would meet Bill in the kitchen to do homework (what little they did have, considering they were Seniors). It would take them all about an hour or so, but usually once they were finished, they would go watch TV with Stan or play video games in Dipper’s room. Occasionally, it was just the boys since Mabel was now going pretty steady with Fernando. She would go over to his house a couple days a week, so Dipper got a decent amount of time alone with Bill. Which he didn’t mind one bit. <br/>“I’m just saying,” Dipper said, munching on his veggie straws, “No matter what way you look at it, that impression in the rocks under the train tracks definitely, 100% looks like a UFO.”<br/>Bill rolled his eyes. “Yeah? And so what if it is? If it actually is a crash sight for a UFO, it probably happened so long ago that any aliens that were on it are either dead or fully integrated into human society.” Bill tipped his head back and drank out of his water bottle, gulping down a healthy amount of it. Dipper stared at the muscles in Bill’s neck and blushed when he caught him.<br/>It had to be the veggie straws making Dipper’s mouth dry right?<br/>“Well what if they’re like hiding out in the woods somewhere? Or maybe they're still stuck on their ship in some sort of hibernation!” Dipper was grinning like an idiot. “The possibilities are endless.”<br/>“Whatever. It really doesn’t matter, not now anyway. So why bother worrying about it?” Bill shifted from his spot on Dipper’s bed, readjusting his back to rest against the wall. <br/>“That’s like saying that since dinosaurs are dead, they don’t matter anymore,” Dipper argued.<br/>“Well...”<br/>Dipper just hit Bill on the chest playfully. “Don’t even,” he warned, tossing his empty snack bag into the trash can. <br/>Dipper scooted off his spot next to Bill and stood up. He stretched, his arms raising above his head as he swayed from side to side. When he looked back over at his friend, he caught Bill looking at his exposed midriff before Dipper pulled his shirt back into place. <br/>“Wanna go down and see what Stan’s doing for dinner,” Dipper suggested, shoving all thoughts of Bill out of his head.<br/>Bill sighed. “Actually, I should probably be getting back home today.” Bill must have seen the disappointed look on Dipper’s face because he followed it up with, “It’s not you, I promise. My parents just want me to attend a dinner they’re hosting. It’s tomorrow but they want me to get ready. Clean my room and such.”<br/>“Is dinner supposed to be held in your room,” Dipper asked sarcastically. <br/>Bill snorted. “Yeah, that’s kinda what I said. But that’s what they want so. I kinda can’t argue.”<br/>“What’s the dinner for,” Dipper asked.<br/>Bill rolled his eyes. “Officially, it’s just a Christmas dinner with all their rich friends but in all reality, it’s just a way for them to show off.”<br/>Dipper furrowed his eyebrows in thought. “That seems pretty superficial.”<br/>“Oh it definitely is,” Bill said, in an annoyed tone. “The whole time I have to sit at the table with all those rich assholes and answer their super dumb questions. ‘Where are you going to school next year?’,’What are you going to be studying?’, ‘Are you seeing anyone?’,” Bill mocked. “And every time I just sit there and give them the answer they want because otherwise I’ll make my parents look bad.” <br/>Dipper frowned as he listened to the explanation. <br/>“Well, it’s none of their business. You don’t have to answer them or say anything if you don’t want to,” Dipper said. Bill smiled at him softly as he grabbed his jacket from the post on Dipper’s bed. <br/>“No offense, Pine Tree. But in the rich and powerful world, things work differently. I wouldn’t expect you to know all the nuances.” Bill placed a hand on Dipper’s shoulder as they walked out of the room. “But I appreciate the sentiment.”<br/>“I probably don’t get it but if you want my honest opinion, I say fuck them. You shouldn’t have to tell anyone shit if you don’t want to.” Dipper heard Bill sigh as they made their way down the stairs. He didn’t reply.<br/>Bill said his goodbyes to the Pines family, giving a hug to Mabel. Ford put together a dish of food that Stan had made, telling him to bring it back whenever he was over again. Bill thanked him and then the two of them made their way outside into the chilly December night. As they approached Bill’s car, he finally said something to Dipper. <br/>“Did you want to attend the dinner with me,” Bill asked, out of the blue. <br/>“What? Why? Didn’t you just say that it was just a bunch of rich assholes in one room interrogating each other?” Dipper was not quite sure why Bill would want him at a fancy dinner anyway. <br/>“Well, you’re not wrong. But, the other kids our age bring friends too and maybe having you there would make me feel better.” Dipper blushed at that. <br/>“Well, I don’t have anything to wear to a fancy dinner. In case you haven’t noticed, my family isn’t exactly swimming in cash.” <br/>Bill just waved his hand. “I’ll get you a suit, no worries.”<br/>Dipper’s mouth dropped open. “Bill, suits are expensive. Plus, I don’t even know any of my measurements.”<br/>“Well in case you haven’t noticed, my family is sort of swimming in cash.” Bill winked. Dipper rolled his eyes. “And by golly it’s time you figure out your measurements you filthy peasant.” Dipper punched him in the shoulder for that one.<br/>“Take it easy there, Pine Tree. I’m only kidding. Well, about the filthy peasant part, not about getting you a suit. That is happening.” Bill opened the door to his car and set the dish Ford had given to him in the passenger seat. <br/>“Better be careful there, Bill. If you start getting me more stuff, people are gonna think you’re my sugar daddy,” Dipper joked. <br/>Bill smiled wolfishly at him then winked. “Only if you want me to be, love.”<br/>	Dipper felt his ears go red and he punched Bill in the shoulder again in embarrassment. <br/>	“Bill!”<br/>	Bill laughed and pulled Dipper in for a hug. “You’re too easy,” he said, releasing him. “I’ll be here at noon tomorrow. Be ready to go.”<br/>	“What should I wear,” Dipper asked as Bill sat in his car and started it. <br/>	“Doesn’t matter, Pine Tree. You’re gonna be in a suit by the end of the day.” Bill closed the door then rolled the window down. “I’ll see you tomorrow!”<br/>	“See ya later!” Dipper called as Bill headed down the driveway. Once Bill’s tail lights disappeared down the gravel driveway through the trees, Dipper headed back inside and had dinner with his sister, Soos, and the Grunkles. They chatted about their day and what they had going on. Dipper’s mind was elsewhere as he ate though, his thoughts consumed by Bill and how in the world he was supposed to get a suit the day of a fancy dinner. </p><p> </p><p>	Once he finished eating, he quietly excused himself from the table, telling Stan he’d do the dishes later. He walked into the hall bathroom near his room and decided a shower was in order. He stripped and laid his clothes in the sink. Then, once he started the water, he looked in the mirror and rubbed his eyes. <br/>	How did he get himself tangled up in this? Why couldn’t he have just said no? He heard himself answer his own racing thoughts.<br/> Bill asked and he couldn’t say no. He said it may be better for him if Dipper were there and damn if Dipper was about to let his friend go through another one of those awful dinners all alone. <br/>Dipper just shook his head and hopped in the shower, letting the steaming water wet his hair and run down his back. It warmed the chill that had settled over him when he went outside with Bill and Dipper felt his mind clearing. He sighed and started shampooing his hair, massaging the soap into his scalp firmly, letting himself relax. He moved on to his face, rubbing the scrub into his skin gingerly. After, he lathered up his body with his body wash, making sure he stayed under the spray of the water so he didn’t get cold. <br/>Once he felt everything had sat long enough to do its job, he started to wash it all off. He ran his fingers through his hair, feeling the bubbles and water run down his back and legs. He turned and rinsed off his face, running his fingers over his cheeks and forehead. After Dipper was satisfied everything was off of him, he just stood in the hot spray for a while, swaying slightly on his feat, soaking up the warmth. He stood for what felt like hours but in all reality was probably only about 10 minutes. Once Dipper decided he had wasted enough water, he turned the shower off and stepped out, towelling himself dry. <br/>As he laid in bed that night, sheets pulled up all the way to his chin, Dipper couldn’t seem to tame his thoughts. His mind was racing with his concerns for tomorrow and he wasn’t able to do much about it. He tried counting, meditating, and everything else he could think of but nothing seemed to help. He looked over at his alarm clock, which displayed a time of 2:13 in the morning and he groaned to himself. <br/>“Fuck it,” he said as he sat up. He reached over to his night stand and grabbed the remote to his TV and Xbox. He turned both on then navigated to YouTube. His recommended page came up and Dipper clicked on the video that never failed to put him to sleep. He pressed play and let Vsauce’s “The Banach-Tarski Paradox” lull his racing mind to sleep. </p><p> </p><p>When Dipper came back to consciousness, he saw the bright winter light filtering through his window. The air was cool but he was deliciously warm under the covers, cocooned from the outside world. He laid like that, drifting peacefully in and out of sleep until he decided to keep his eyes open for good. Dipper reached his arm out of his blankets and shivered as the cool air hit his skin. He yawned as he brought his phone to his face, lazily opening it to his home screen.<br/>He almost fell out of bed when he checked the time.<br/>“Shit!” He threw the blankets off of him, the cold air rushing in and causing his teeth to chatter as he ran down the hall bathroom.<br/>“How can it  be 11:45? How did I sleep that late?” Dipper talked to himself as he relieved himself and then brushed his teeth frantically. He tried to run a comb through his unruly curls but sighed in frustration when they wouldn’t cooperate. <br/>“Of fucking course,” Dipper muttered to himself, throwing the comb back down onto the counter top. He quickly applied some deodorant then raced out of the bathroom, switching the light off as he passed the switch. He made his way to his room again and pulled his hair in frustration when he realized he didn’t have anything to wear. <br/>“Are you fucking serious right now,” he said to no one in particular, opening his closet and forcefully flipping through his shirts, not finding any of them suitable to today’s activities. He went to his dresser but found that those shirts were equally unworthy. Dipper’s head turned to the clock and his anxiety skyrocketed when he saw it was 11:56.<br/>“Of course I wake up late on today of all days. He’s gonna be here any minute and I’m not even dressed!” Dipper was panicking, rummaging through even his dirty clothes for something to wear. Suddenly, Dipper heard a chuckle from behind him and he whipped around to see Bill standing in his doorway dressed in a crisp navy dress shirt and black slacks. <br/>“Bill! What are you doing here?” Dipper was surprised by not only Bill’s sudden appearance but also how damn good he looked in that outfit. Suddenly he felt exposed, standing in nothing but his underwear in the middle of his room.<br/>	“Well, I like to be early but it appears as though you may need some more time,” Bill said smugly, a smirk pulling at his lips. Dipper huffed in frustration. <br/>	“I don’t have anything to fucking wear and you didn’t give me any idea as to what I should be wearing in the first place. I just woke up like 10 minutes ago and now you’re here and I’m not even ready,” he explained, frustrated and embarrassed.<br/>	“I’m sorry, Pine Tree. I didn’t think you’d be so stressed about today. But have no fear, I am sure we can find something for you to wear.” Bill entered the room and helped Dipper look through all his clothes. <br/>	Eventually, they were able to pull together an outfit for him. Bill found a flannel shirt hanging in the back of Dipper’s closet which made Dipper realize he didn’t actually own a dress shirt. Dipper figured out he apparently didn’t have any dress pants either so he had to go with jeans.<br/>Once he pulled on his dreadfully casual clothes, it made him feel severely under dressed. Dipper felt the urge to crawl into his bed and not come out for the next year. But Bill convinced him it was fine.<br/>“The whole point of today is to get you a nice suit. Don’t even worry about it,” he said, dragging Dipper down the stairs before he could even protest. When they got downstairs, Mabel was at the table, slurping out of a bowl with chicken noodle soup in it. <br/>“Hey guys,” she greeted cheerfully. “Where are y’all headed off to?”<br/>“I’m taking your dear brother here to get a suit. He’s accompanying me to a dinner tonight and he apparently has no dress clothes,” Bill explained.<br/>“Oh a dinner date? Where at,” she questioned, making Dipper blush.<br/>“It’s not a date Mabel. He just invited me to a Christmas dinner at his parents house tonight,” he said, hoping she would drop it. <br/>Dipper saw Bill wink at her when she looked at him inquisitively. “Right,” she said suspiciously. “Well, have fun.” She turned her attention back to her soup. “I guess I’ll see you later tonight Dip?” <br/>“Yeah, I’ll be back later,” Dipper said nervously. <br/>“Don’t you worry, Shooting Star. I’ll deliver him back home safe and sound. You have my word.” Bill bowed and then turned and ushered Dipper out the front door. He unlocked the doors to his car and Dipper climbed in the passenger seat. When he sat down, he watched Bill as he was turning the key and getting himself situated. Once he was finished, he looked over at Dipper and said, “Buckle up!” before rolling the car down the driveway then onto the long winding road that went to town. <br/>“Where is this tailor anyway,” Dipper asked. He only knew of one tailor in Gravity Falls and it was run by an old man even grouchier than his Grunkle Stan was. And he knew this because Stan had needed to get his business suit hemmed a bit when he first bought it, so he brought it to the tailor in town. The man had not only been rude but had practically told Stan he didn’t look like he could afford a suit like that and that he had probably stolen it. Needless to say, they never went back. <br/>“Oh, well the tailor is actually a private one. The shop in town has the meanest old man,” Bill started.<br/>“Oh trust me I know,” Dipper said. “We went to him once and only once.”<br/>	Bill chuckled. “Yeah, he’s kind of an asshole.”<br/>“That’s the understatement of the year,” Dipper huffed.<br/>They were mostly silent for the rest of the drive. Dipper was looking out the window as Bill drove, taking the time to look at the side of town he had only seen a handful of times. The large houses with nicely manicured lawns and beautiful landscaping screamed money. Dipper had once longed to be rich but he couldn’t help but think now that he was probably lucky he wasn’t. He remembered stories Bill had told him and decided that he was glad he lived where he did. It taught him to appreciate what he had. <br/>But then he thought, maybe it had also caused him to pass judgements on others he deemed wealthy. Dipper thought of when Bill had been nothing more than an annoying, rich asshole who always interrupted class and got under his skin. He looked over at the young man in the driver seat and smiled. He was definitely glad he had gotten to know this annoying, rich asshole. <br/>As they continued to drive through the neighborhoods, Dipper noticed the houses were getting bigger and bigger and the spaces between them getting wider and wider until the car seemed to slow down. When they pulled up to the gate (yes, a gate!), Dipper watched as Bill put in a code and the gates opened. Bill continued up the driveway and Dipper was, to say the least, astounded. <br/>Before him, on a sprawling lawn, stood the biggest house Dipper had ever seen. The three story building seemed to stretch on for ages and the yellow tan color of the mansion was in stark contrast to the dull brown of his home. The amount of windows on the structure was incredible and Dipper swore he saw a giant pool in the backyard as they came up the side of the house. Once Bill pulled the car up to the front of the house, he put the car into park and then shut it off. <br/>“I should warn you, we have two dogs. They are friendly, I promise. But just let them sniff you first and then you can pet them,” Bill explained as he climbed out of the car. Dipper gave him a confused look and Bill continued. “They’re our guard dogs.”<br/>“Ah,” Dipper said. <br/>Sure enough, once they got to the first landing, two dogs - Dobermans, Dipper observed - came sprinting from the side of the house and for a moment Dipper thought for sure he was going to get tackled by them. But once the dogs got close enough, they slowed down and gave Dipper a sniff all the way around. <br/>“Hey babies,” Bill cooed, his voice instantly higher, “How are you? Did you miss me?” His question was answered when the black and brown dog licked his face happily. “I missed you too, 8 Ball.” <br/>Dipper looked at the white Doberman and went to pet it. He pulled his hand back when the dog growled at him.<br/>“Gideon, chill out,” Bill scolded. He looked sheepishly at Dipper. “Gideon doesn’t really like guys. Not really sure why, but it’s not you. He’s just a little shit sometimes.” <br/>Dipper just shrugged and followed close behind Bill as they walked the rest of the way to the front door. As soon as Bill got to the top step, the two large doors opened and a man greeted the two of them. <br/>“Good afternoon, Master William,” the older gentleman said politely.<br/>“Afternoon, Alfred. This is my friend Dipper,” he introduced. <br/>“Welcome, Master Dipper,” Alfred greeted. <br/>“Uh, hi there. You can just call me Dipper, no need for the master stuff,” Dipper muttered nervously. <br/>“Don’t even try, Pine Tree. You’ll never get any of the staff to call you by just your name. I’ve tried for years,” Bill said flippantly. “Just follow me, I’ll show you where we’re headed.” Bill strode confidently through the main lobby of the house and Dipper jogged after him, taken aback by the size of the inside of the mansion. As Bill led him down hallways and up stairs, Dipper’s head was swivelling from side to side, looking at the gorgeous architecture and magnificent paintings. The decor was not a hair out of place as they passed empty living rooms and bedrooms. Dipper’s thoughts came to a screeching halt and he couldn’t help but ask the question out loud when it came to him. <br/>“Why do you always come over to my house when you have all this?” Dipper almost regretted asking when Bill paused in his walk to the room.<br/>Bill turned his head to speak over his shoulder. “A beautiful prison is still a prison,” he said, almost melancholy. Dipper didn’t reply. When Bill started walking again, Dipper fell in line behind him and followed the rest of the way to their destination. <br/>Bill stopped in front of two large white doors. His previous mood seemingly abandoned, he just smiled and opened the door for Dipper. In front of them was a room that looked almost like a classy mens warehouse; there were walls covered in jackets, dress shirts and slacks with a wall dedicated to dress shoes in the back. There were two women and a man in the room waiting for them. Dipper was floored. <br/>“Are all these yours,” Dipper asked, stunned. <br/>“They’re the family’s. There’s a suit in here for every occasion and function. If there’s not one you like, well then you’re even more picky than I am,” Bill smirked as he pulled Dipper into the room. <br/>“Greetings Master William, Master Dipper.” The tall woman greeted them both with a bow. Her exceptionally dark skin glowed beautifully in the yellow light of the room and Dipper thought Mabel would probably cry over how pretty she was. She turned to Dipper and said, “My name is Amelia, these are my assistants, Jorge and Elizabeth. It is my understanding that you are in need of a suit for tonight’s dinner?”<br/>“Uh,” Dipper said. Bill grinned at him. “Yeah. Yeah that’s right.”<br/>“Excellent. Do you have any color or material preferences,” she asked, leading him back to a small platform. <br/>“I’ve never really done any of this before. I’m not picky though,” he said, feeling almost guilty that so much fuss was being made over just him. He looked to Bill for help, but he was just leaning against a nearby wall and watching everything go down.<br/>“Don’t be shy, Master Dipper.” Amelia had a warm and soothing voice that made Dipper feel like this really was no big deal. “If there’s anything you want specifically, just let us know. In the meantime, would you please allow Elizabeth to take your measurements?” <br/>“Uh, yeah sure. Go for it,” Dipper said. The smaller woman moved forward and gave him a courteous smile before grabbing a tape measurer off of the stool that sat nearby and went to work. Her pale hands guided his arms and legs to where they needed to be and her soft spoken commands told him what he needed to do in the most gentle way. Once she had succeeded in getting all of his measurements, Jorge stepped in front of him. <br/>“I will help you find and match your pieces. Please follow me,” He said. His thick voice was a little more curt than Amelia and Elizabeth’s had been but he didn’t sound mean. <br/>Dipper followed the older man to the wall with all the jackets on it. Jorge stood aside so that Dipper had full access to all the options.<br/>“These are all the options we have in your general size. Are there any that jump out at you, Master Dipper?”<br/>	“Just Dipper is fine. And,” he trailed off. He looked back at Bill who had followed them and was now watching Dipper with interest. “You sure I can have any of these?”<br/>Bill nodded. “Whichever one you want. Knock yourself out.”<br/>Dipper turned back toward the wall and took inventory of all that was before him. Every color he could think of was there but mostly there were black, blue, grey and brown jackets of various styles. He looked at all of them before deciding he wanted something a little different than those. He browsed the different jackets, running his fingers over the ones that were on the bottom row. He stopped when he saw a red jacket. He touched it and was surprised to see it wasn’t the usual texture but rather it was velvet. Dipper looked over at Bill, looking for permission. <br/>Bill just gestured with his hands to go ahead. So, Dipper pulled the jacket out and examined it. The deep maroon color was gorgeous to Dipper’s eye and he couldn’t help but be drawn to the elegant style it had. <br/>“Does this one suit your fancy,” Jorge asked.<br/>“Yeah, I think so,” Dipper replied, still not sure exactly how to talk to the staff members. <br/>“Very well. I’ll hold onto it for you. Let’s continue over to the dress shirts,” Jorge responded, grabbing the jacket Dipper was holding and beckoning Dipper to follow him around the room. <br/>After about a half hour, Dipper had picked out what he thought would be a fairly simply yet classy looking outfit. Bill seemed pleased with his choices and in all honesty, that was enough for Dipper. He would have worn a clown costume if Bill said it looked good on him. So once he had everything picked out, Amelia told him they’d have everything ready before dinner. Bill thanked the staff and ushered Dipper out of the room. <br/>“Well if we have a couple hours, what are we gonna do in the meantime,” Dipper asked. <br/>“We could go swimming if you want,” Bill suggested. <br/>“Bill it’s literally almost Christmas and you want to go swimming? It’s freezing!” <br/>Bill smiled knowingly then grabbed Dipper’s wrist, leading him down the hall. Dipper shut up at the feeling of Bill’s warm hand over his wrist and let himself be led by the taller man. Soon, they arrived at a room that smelled lightly of chlorine. The air was damp but the tile floor was completely dry. <br/>“There’s some extra trunks in that bin over there,” Bill said. “You should be able to find something your size,” he added, going into a cabinet beside it and pulling out two towels. <br/>“Bill, I don’t want to go swimming if the water is negative a million degrees!”<br/>Two golden eyes looked up at the ceiling and sighed. “Heat, Pine Tree. It’s a heated pool. Besides, there's an indoor portion so we won’t even have to go outside.” <br/>Bill started to strip and Dipper could not turn around fast enough when Bill pulled his pants off. He busied himself with undressing quickly so that Bill wouldn’t catch him staring. <br/>“You didn’t have to turn around you know,” Bill said slyly and oh boy if only he knew the kinds of things that flooded into Dipper’s head just then.<br/>Dipper just stayed silent and continued undressing while he faced the small patch of lockers in the corner of the room. He folded his clothes neatly and set them down on the bench and then pulled on the plain black swim trunks he had found in the bin. Once he was finished, he turned around and was surprised to find Bill watching him.<br/>“Not that I looked or anything, but nice ass, Pine Tree.” Dipper felt his entire face go red. “You’re so pale too,” Bill teased. <br/>“Yeah well not all of us can be blessed with naturally tan genes,” Dipper quipped, hoping Bill didn’t notice how red he was. <br/>“It’s a burden I carry so that others don’t have to,” Bill retorted sarcastically. <br/>Dipper followed as Bill led them through the small locker room, past the showers and into the pool area. The smell of chlorine was now thick in the air. The room was humid and warm, the pool taking up a large portion of the space. It started shallow but then got deeper the closer it got to the wall of glass that showed the outside pool area. It was probably quite beautiful in the summer but right now it looked a bit sad with a grey sky in the background. Bill just ran and jumped right in, cannonballing into the deep end and sending a splash of water to the other side of the pool deck. <br/>“Come on in, Pine Tree, the water’s great!” Bill called. <br/>Dipper walked over to the steps and climbed into the water slowly, still surprised when it wasn’t freezing cold. As he walked farther and farther in, Dipper was pleased with the warm temperature, letting his body fall into the water and soak him completely. <br/>“This was a fantastic idea,” he said, floating on his back over towards Bill. <br/>“Indeed it was.” Bill said. “I love swimming. It helps to clear my head. Also, it’s really cool to be able to swim in here and watch the outside, especially when it snows.” Dipper smiled as he imagined Bill floating peacefully in the pool. <br/>“Plus my parents don’t come down here much. It’s like my personal oasis.” Dipper felt the familiar stab at his heart when he heard Bill talk about his parents, but let it go. Every time he tried to talk with Bill about his parents, Bill would redirect the conversation elsewhere. <br/>They swam around, splashing each other and making themselves laugh. They stayed in the water even after their skin got all pruned up. About an hour and a half later though, they decided it was time to get out. <br/>“Still gotta get showered and all that,” Bill said, helping Dipper out of the pool.<br/>Without a word, Dipper grabbed Bill’s helping hand and yanked him back into the pool. Before Bill could surface, Dipper scrambled out of the pool and sprinted all the way to the locker room, laughing the whole way. When he heard Bill’s wet footfalls behind him, Dipper felt his playful surge of adrenaline heighten. He almost slipped when he turned into the shower room and by the time he got the curtain closed, he heard Bill’s playful yells right outside the entrance.<br/>“That wasn’t very nice, Pine Tree,” Bill called, out of breath. <br/>Dipper started up the water and stood behind the spray. He turned the water all the way to cold and pulled the detachable shower head down. “Don’t come in here, Cipher. I have cold water and I’m not afraid to use it!” When he didn’t hear any response, Dipper waited suspiciously until his curiosity got the best of him. He slowly inched his way toward the curtain and peaked his head out, trying to spot his pursuer. <br/>“Gotcha!” Dipper heard from the stall next to him. Before he could move, Dipper felt cold water spraying down on him. He gasped in shock and dropped the shower head he was holding, scurrying out of his shower stall. Once Dipper was out of the spray, he turned to see Bill cackling from the stall beside the one Dipper was in, still holding the shower head over the side barrier. <br/>“Fuck you,” Dipper yelled, very wet and very cold. He was still smiling.<br/>Cackling, Bill said, “Aw come on, Pine Tree that was great!” Dipper waited for Bill’s laughter to die down before walking closer. <br/>“Yeah maybe for you, now I’m freezing,” Dipper complained.<br/>“Well if it was really that bad, I could always warm you up,” BIll suggested, waggling his eyebrows. <br/>Fuck it, Dipper thought. <br/>“Yunno what? I’m gonna take you up on that offer,” Dipper said, approaching Bill until they were nose to nose. When Bill got quiet, Dipper thought maybe this was a terrible idea but he was in too deep to back out now. “It was your idea to go in a chlorine filled pool and you’re the one who made me cold, so you’re gonna be the one to wash my hair.” <br/>They stared at each other in the eyes for a moment, chocolate boring into amber before Bill took a step back and put his hands up. <br/>“Alright Pine Tree, you got me. Guess now I gotta put my money where my mouth is. Come on in.” He stepped aside and let Dipper into the shower stall first. Once again, Dipper stood behind the spray as Bill turned the dial from cold to hot and let the water warm. Once Bill deemed the water warm enough, he grabbed the shower head. <br/>“Turn around,” Bill commanded. <br/>Oh if only this were in a different context. <br/>Dipper complied and turned to face the tiled wall behind him. He heard Bill approach him from behind and could feel the heat radiating off the man before the warm spray of the water was aimed at his head. The gentle droplets soaked Dipper’s hair and he saw Bill’s arm reach in front of him as he grabbed a small bottle of shampoo. The lid’s snap when it opened echoed slightly through the room and punctuated the tense silence that had settled over the two. <br/>“Awfully quiet all of a sudden,” Dipper stated, feeling more hesitant than he sounded. <br/>“Just want to make sure I do a good job,” Bill explained evenly. “I’m getting ready to do your hair so close your eyes, it’d really suck to get soap in them.”<br/>Dipper complied and screwed his eyes shut. Then he felt Bill’s fingers start to massage his scalp and oh god, Dipper thought he would melt into the floor. Dipper kept his eyes shut out of pleasure then, a small moan escaping from his lips. <br/>“That feels really nice,” he said, hoping it would break the tension. <br/>“I can tell,” Bill said and Dipper was fairly certain he heard the smirk in Bill’s voice. <br/>Dipper focused on his tactile sense and felt the warm water come back up to his head, starting to rinse the soap out of his hair. He felt the sudsy water wash down his back and heard Bill’s breath next to his ear. <br/>It took all of Dipper’s strength not to let his body close the inch distance between him and Bill to relish in the taller man’s smooth skin against his. Dipper could practically feel the warm, imaginary press of lips to his neck and shoulder. He let his mind wander further and imagined the feel of Bill’s hands sliding down his waist and grabbing onto his hips. Dipper imagined pressing his ass back into-<br/>“All done.”<br/>Dipper’s eyes shot open with a start. <br/>“Huh,” he managed. <br/>“You’re all done, Pine Tree,” Bill repeated, stepping back. <br/>“Oh. Yeah, right.” Dipper said, suddenly flushing a bright red. He turned and faced Bill, a huge mistake he found. His usually bright eyes were dark and hooded and Dipper bit his lip to keep himself from acting on the immediate impulse to press his lips to Bill’s. <br/>“Go ahead and get your clothes on. I’ll be out in a minute,” Bill breathed, his eyes darting down for a split second before he seemed to snap out of it. <br/>“Okay. I’ll just uh.. Go do that,” Dipper answered, mentally facepalming. He stepped out of the way and hurried out of the shower room to the main locker room. He dried himself off with one of the towels Bill had set out earlier and got dressed, his jeans fitting a bit tighter than he would have liked. <br/>He tossed the used trunks in what appeared to be an empty laundry bin and sat on the bench. Dipper found himself scrolling through his phone's photos out of nervous energy. He looked at photos from earlier in the year, looking back over the past year. There were significantly more pictures starting after Thanksgiving. Which was really only less than a month ago but with the amount of time he had been spending with Bill, it almost felt like a lifetime. Just two months ago Dipper had found Bill at that party and he found it hard to think about the previous years without Bill’s companionship. <br/>Before he could get too wrapped up in his thoughts, Dipper heard footsteps approaching. He looked up to see Bill walking toward him with only a towel around his trim waist, the stark white contrasting greatly to the light brown of Bill’s skin. <br/>“See something you like,” Bill asked teasingly.<br/>Dipper laughed. “Yeah yeah, whatever, loser,” he said, not daring to answer that question the way he wanted to.<br/>“I think we should get dressed and then go up and grab a snack. After that, I can kick your ass at some Mario Kart on the Switch until your clothes are ready.” Bill shimmied into his black slacks and dress shirt, his still damp skin making the fabric stick to him. <br/>“Sounds like a plan,” Dipper said, trying not to get caught staring again.<br/>Once Bill finished getting dressed, he motioned for Dipper to follow him. “Let’s go, Pine Tree. What do you feel like having?”<br/>They made their way to Bill’s ridiculously large kitchen and were promptly served any food they asked for. The kitchen staff was busy making the final dishes for dinner which smelled absolutely delicious, but they were still catered to promptly. They tried to keep it light, not wanting to ruin their dinner but the freshly made cake pops were tempting. After they had eaten, Dipper followed Bill to the game room where every console Dipper had ever heard of resided. Bill booted up the Switch that he had hooked up to the TV and did, in fact, kick Dipper’s ass at Mario Kart. <br/>“I get a lot of practice,” was all Bill had to say when Dipper asked him why he was so good. <br/>After about an hour of games, they were retrieved by Elizabeth who informed them Dipper's clothes were finished being altered. As they followed her down the hall towards the room they first visited, Dipper was nervous that his selections wouldn’t look as good as he thought they would. <br/>“Hey, what are you wearing to this dinner anyway,” he asked Bill. <br/>Bill smiled. “You’ll see. Dinner is only two hours away after all.”<br/>“Why are we getting dressed so early,” Dipper asked, not looking forward to being in such stiff clothing for that long. <br/>“We socialize a bit before we eat my dear Pine Tree,” Bill explained as they reached the double doors. Elizabeth opened them for the young men and led them to the back of the room where the changing areas were. <br/>“Master William, Jorge will see you over there,” Amelia said. “Master Dipper, I’ll take care of you over here,” she motioned to the room on her left. Bill split with Dipper with a wink. Dipper followed Amelia into the changing room. She pulled the thick curtain shut behind them and Dipper saw his newly tailored suit on a mannequin in the corner by brightly lit mirrors. <br/>“Amelia, it’s fine really. I can get dressed myself,” he said, again feeling like a burden. <br/>“Nonsense, Master Dipper. This is my job and I get paid quite handsomely. I promise there is no judgement if that’s what you’re worried about. I do this for a living, there’s nothing you have I haven’t seen already,” she said, her eyes sparkling with teasing laughter. <br/>“I- I didn’t mean it like that, I’m just not used to this,” he stuttered. <br/>“It’s alright Master Dipper, I understand. Now, please set your clothes down on that bench over there. I will bring your suit to you.” She gestured to the bench next to Dipper then she walked toward the well dressed mannequin and wheeled it across the room. <br/>After a lot of awkward moments (at least they were awkward to Dipper), he was finally dressed. Dipper looked at himself and smiled proudly. The maroon of velvet made the slight red undertones of Dipper’s chocolate hair stand out beautifully. The shimmering black dress shirt underneath (that Dipper was fairly certain was made of silk) slid across his skin effortlessly. His black slacks hugged everything they were supposed to and nothing they were not and made his legs look long and muscular. His shiny black shoes almost reflected his own face back up at him when Dipper looked down and he almost felt like a kid on Christmas morning. He turned and looked at the back of the suit, loving the way it accented his shoulders and hips. <br/>“You did a marvelous job picking the pieces out, if I do say so myself,” Amelia said, watching Dipper admire himself in the mirrors.<br/>“Are you kidding? You guys did all the hard work. This looks great! The sleeves and legs are the perfect length! I didn’t think a suit would feel this comfortable,” Dipper complimented. <br/>“Well, not to brag but I did say they pay me handsomely. They wouldn’t if I wasn’t good at what I did.”<br/>“That’s an understatement.” Dipper said, still admiring himself in the mirror. <br/>“Amelia,” Jorge’s voice came from behind the curtain. She went over to see what the man needed then walked back over to Dipper.<br/>“Master William has already been summoned to the lobby by Mr. and Mrs. Cipher it seems. Elizabeth will escort you down when you are ready to follow. I will have Alfred put the clothes you came to us in in Master William’s vehicle.”<br/>Dipper grabbed his phone off the bench and slid it into the large front pocket of his pants. “Thank you guys, really.” He took one last look at himself in the mirror then said, “I guess I’m ready now.” <br/>Amelia nodded and opened the curtain. Dipper found Elizabeth, the soft spoken woman beckoning him to follow her. He did, letting her lead him down winding hallways until he started to hear people’s voices echoing off of the high ceilings. The hallway opened up to the large main lobby and Dipper suddenly felt as if he was on display on the balcony over the small crowd of people. He tried to find Bill but in the sea of sharp suits and elegant dresses, it proved to be impossible. He thanked Elizabeth and walked down the winding staircase, continuing to scan the crowd for Bill’s mess of dyed blonde hair but to no avail. So he stuck close to the walls, feeling out of place and wishing Bill would come find him soon.<br/>He figured it would be rude to be on his phone at a function like this, so he decided to people watch, one of his favorite activities. Although, unlike high school with it’s endless diversity in people and classes, this crowd was remarkably homogeneous. The majority of the people were older and had children around Dipper’s own age, but some were younger with smaller children and some were older with no children present. He was hoping he’d spot Bill at some point but his tall friend continued to elude his sight. <br/>After about 10 minutes huddled against a wall between the entrances of the twin spiral staircases, a young woman approached Dipper, her long blue and silver dress hugging her body beautifully and her blonde hair in an elegant and immaculate braid. <br/>“Hello, I don’t think I’ve met you before. What’s your name?” She asked, her voice almost as silky as her dress. <br/>“Uh, hi,” he said awkwardly. “My name is Dipper, nice to meet you.” <br/>“Dipper huh,” she said and he couldn’t tell if that was or was not a mocking tone. “That’s definitely not the name I was expecting.”<br/>Mildly offended, Dipper responded. “Well what were you expecting?”<br/>“I don’t know, maybe Jake, or Matthew. Definitely not Dipper,” she explained.<br/>“Well you’ve certainly got a lot to say about my name without me even knowing yours,” he said, folding his arms in annoyance. <br/>“Relax. My name is Pacifica, I’m a Northwest,” she said proudly. <br/>After a beat of silence which he assumed was supposed to be her ‘pause for effect’, Dipper responded flatly. <br/>“That supposed to do something for me?” <br/>She huffed. “Northwest? The founders of Gravity Falls? Not ringing any bells?” <br/>“Nope. And frankly, I don’t think you should be so smug about it. Gravity Falls isn’t really that big of a place in the grand scheme of things,” he could see her face going red so he decided to dig in further. “Not like people are coming to America just to see your humble little speck on the map.”<br/>“You, you,” she fumed. “You insufferable little-”<br/>“Pine Tree!” Dipper heard Bill’s familiar voice and he instantly felt less prickly. Bill materialized out of the crowd and put an arm around Dipper’s shoulders. “I see you’ve met Pacifica Northwest. Everything going well I presume,” he said smoothly, knowing full well it wasn’t. <br/>Pacifica pointed harshly at Bill. “You better teach your friend here some manners Cipher. I don’t think he belongs here anyway.”<br/>Before Bill could say anything, Dipper got up in Pacifica’s face and looked her right in the eye. “Look here lady. I can go anywhere I damn well please. And I don’t have to take bullshit from a total stranger, I don’t care who they are. So why don’t you go back to your mommy and daddy and leave me the fuck alone,” he said evenly threateningly. <br/>Words seemed to fail for the young blonde woman. She turned quickly and stormed off, chin tilted up in defiance and bare shoulders tight with bridled anger. <br/>Dipper pulled the bottom of his jacket down and took a breath to calm himself down. He turned back to Bill and for the first time took in the way the young man looked and damn. <br/>Bill was stunning. <br/>His thin form was encased in a beautiful black suit that seemed to glitter in the light. The buttons to the jacket were gold and ornate, small triangles on all the faces. Dipper’s eyes traveled down to Bill's pants which clung to his legs just enough for Dipper to see the strong muscles in Bill’s thighs. There was a gold strip that went down the side of the pants, accenting his somehow impeccable posture. <br/>God if Dipper could have his way with Bill in this suit he could die a happy man. <br/>“Well, you clean up nice,” Bill commented. “You did a good job with that one. It’s a keeper for sure,” he said, winking. <br/>Fuck, that wink. <br/>“Yeah, I think Amelia and them did a great job. But look at you! You look like a whole different person,” Dipper exclaimed, hoping to take the focus off himself. <br/>“Oh, this? This is nothing,” Bill said flippantly. <br/>“No I’m serious, you look amazing,” Dipper insisted. <br/>Bill laughed. “Thank you Pine Tree.” He smiled slyly. “Also, just for future reference, you may wanna chill out with the telling people off business. Not that it wasn’t hot but, yunno, appearances and what not.” <br/>Dipper smirked. “Yeah well, I had to deal with your fuckery for 3 years. I know how to handle myself. But fine, I’ll tone it down for your sake.” <br/>“Thanks, Pine Tree. Now come on, I gotta introduce you to everyone. Don’t get excited though, you won’t like anyone.” Bill took his hand and led him through the crowd.<br/>“Yippee.” </p><p> </p><p>After about an hour, everyone started to file into a large formal room which had been converted into a dining room. There were 3 separate long tables capable of seating 20 people each parallel with each other and fully dressed with decorations, utensils and most importantly, food. Everyone sat down at their assigned seats, Dipper right next to Bill who was on the left side of his father. His father sat at the head of one of the tables and had taken approximately 15 minutes for one of his toasts. <br/>Afterwards though, once the food was served, Dipper found that rich people food was absolutely delicious. There were hams and potatoes, fancy christmas dishes and vegetables. He didn’t know what most things were and had to have Bill tell him what it was so he wouldn’t be wasteful. All in all, it was a decent dinner. Good food and decent company. <br/>At least it started that way. <br/>Halfway through dinner, the questioning started and it was hard for Dipper to endure. He could tell how uncomfortable Bill was becoming. The usual carefree nature of the young man completely gone and replaced by robotic answers. Dipper didn’t like it one bit. <br/>“How come we haven’t seen you with any young ladies? There has to be some suitable for you at school,” a large man from across the table said to him. “Unless of course you’re one of those weirdos that’s not into girls for some reason.” The men around him laughed but Bill just seemed to fall further and further into himself and Dipper was having a hard time sitting through it. <br/>“Just haven’t found anyone I like yet I suppose,” Bill said blankly. <br/>“Ah come on, you don’t have to like ‘em for any length of time. They just have to satisfy your needs for a while, then you can move on. Trust me, enjoy your freedom because once you get married, it’s over.” The man’s wife frowned beside him and Dipper could tell she was hurt by her husband’s words. <br/>“I think Bill is just looking for a good partner, that’s all,” Dipper interjected. “He’s waiting for the right one to come along.” Dipper could sense Bill’s panicked eyes on him but he ignored them. <br/>“That so? And who is this Bill, a friend of yours,” the man asked, like Dipper wasn’t sitting right there. <br/>“This is Dipper, he’s a friend from school,” Bill explained. <br/>“Yes, they’ve been spending a significant amount of time together as of late,” Bill’s mother said casually from across the table. <br/>“Better be careful there, Mrs. Cipher. You let the boy spend too much time with other guys, he might go homo,” the man said and Dipper felt like he was going to burst a head gasket. <br/>“With all due respect, sir,” Dipper started. “You don’t ‘go homo’. That’s not how it works.” Dipper felt Bill grab his hand under the table and when he looked up, Dipper saw Bill’s eyes pleading him to stop. <br/>The man across the table huffed. “Well you sure seem to know a lot about them. Do you have some experience?”<br/>Dipper was about to respond but Bill gripped his hand tighter so Dipper kept his mouth shut. After seeing he wasn’t going to say anything, the table went back to a steady conversation, albeit with a tense aura around them. <br/>The rest of dinner went by without incident, Dipper kept his mouth shut when the large man across the table made his comments because he didn’t want to make Bill look bad. But the silence had to be broken at some point, and that point ended up happening during dessert. <br/>Once everyone had filled their plates with an assortment of pies, cakes and puddings, Dipper was talking with Bill amiably as he ate. Bill would laugh and Dipper was glad his friend was back to his usual self, despite the circumstances. <br/>“Hey, knock it off,” Dipper said, quietly laughing at Bill when he kicked him under the table. <br/>“I have no idea what you’re talking about, Pine Tree,” Bill said innocently, facing his plate.<br/>Dipper kicked the side of his foot. Bill kicked back. <br/>“Stop!” Dipper giggled. <br/>“It wasn’t me,” Bill said, looking up and away from him. <br/>“Mhm.” Dipper swiped his finger through the whipped cream that topped his chocolate pie and deposited it right on the tip of Bill’s sharp nose. “Wasn’t me,” Dipper said. <br/>Bill laughed and wiped it off. <br/>“Mr. Cipher, are you just going to let your son fool around at the table with this little twink?” <br/>Bill’s smile immediately dropped and Dipper’s head whipped around to look at the large man across the table. <br/>The man continued. “You should have taught your son not to-”<br/>“Not to what, sir,” Dipper interrupted. <br/>“Don’t talk to me boy, this doesn’t concern you,” the man sneered. <br/>“The hell it doesn’t!” <br/>The room got noticeably quieter as Dipper rose from his seat sharply. Bill grabbed his hand. <br/>“Dipper, stop, it’s not worth it,” Bill pleaded. <br/>“Yeah it is Bill. This asshat over here is being a dick for no reason and you’re just sitting here and taking it,” Dipper said angrily. “All of you are!” He looked around at the people at the table who put their heads down instead of meeting his gaze. Dipper looked at the man across the table who was glaring at him with a fiery intensity. <br/>“You listen to me, douchebag,” Dipper pointed at him. “Bill is not a fucking thing that you can just poke and prod at with your invasive ass questions. And he doesn’t owe you an explanation for anything.”<br/>“Now you listen to me,” the man started.<br/>“Oh no, you listen to me, asshole,” Dipper interrupted. “I sat through a whole dinner of your bullshit and I can’t believe you actually have a wife. I can’t believe anyone would sign up for an eternity with you! You are insufferable and intolerant and I can’t stand to listen to any more of your shit!”<br/>The man stood up as well and pounded a fist on the table. “Who are you to speak when you don’t even belong here! You reek of lower class and I don’t understand why the Cipher’s even took the time of day on you! You have no sense of dignity, you ignorant child.” Dipper heard Bill trying to calm him down but he was solely focused on the man across the table from him. <br/>“Oh I’ve got dignity asshole. I’ll stand up for what I believe in, which is way more than I’d expect of you. You’re just a slimy little weasel who cheats people out of their money and then laughs at their misfortune. I can’t wait until you get what’s coming to you.” Dipper turned to leave, having nothing left to say to the man and not willing to sit back down at a table with him.<br/>“Oh is that all you’ve got you skinny little brat? All bark and no bite,” The man taunted. <br/>“You’re not even worth the effort,” Dipper said over his shoulder. He stormed out of the large dining room and towards the front door. He opened the doors himself, and walked down the front landings and went to Bill’s car, wanting to get the scent of the dinner off of him. The door was unlocked so Dipper opened the door forcefully and started to take off the suit, the cold air not even registering in his head. <br/>Once he got changed, he placed the suit in his old clothes place on the seat as carefully as he could. After all, Amelia and her assistants had been kind to him, he didn’t need to make their lives difficult. He ordered a Lyft to pick him up and then made his way away from the house.<br/>He was about halfway down the driveway when he heard footsteps behind him.<br/>“What the fuck was that,” Bill asked angrily. <br/>Dipper continued walking. “That dude was way out of line, I had to say something.” <br/>“No, you were way out of line,” Bill said as he grabbed Dipper’s shoulder and turned him around. “Do you understand how embarrassing that was for me? You just yelled at and insulted one of my parents friends as my personal guest!”<br/>“What? You’re embarrassed because I said something to that asshole? I was defending you,” Dipper exclaimed incredulously. <br/>“You don’t get it!” Bill was angrier than Dipper had ever seen him. “That’s not how these things work, you can’t just curse out the people you don’t like, Pine Tree! We are going to have to do some serious kissing ass because of your little episode.” Dipper couldn’t believe what he was hearing. <br/>“You’re telling me your parents work with that asshole? After all the shit he said to you? You’re their son, they should have done the same thing I did for God’s sake!”<br/>Bill sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. <br/>“I can handle myself, I don’t need you to defend me.”<br/>“Yeah well it’s not a need thing. I wouldn’t let anyone talk to my family like that and you’re my family. So you might as well not invite me to any more of your little dinner’s because I’ll probably cause a scene every time. After all I am just a filthy peasant.”<br/>“Don’t do that, man. Don’t pull the family card, that’s not getting you out of this,” Bill said curling his lip up. <br/>“I’m not trying to get out of it, Bill,” Dipper said, punctuating his name. “I’m just saying, I’m never going to stand by and watch while someone goes after the people I love.” When Bill didn’t say anything back, Dipper continued. “The way that man was talking to you and honestly just in general was disgusting and I can’t believe no one has told him off before. But apparently in your house, you just sit back and let people walk all over you so you can get something out of it.”<br/>“That’s not what we do,” Bill tried to explain.<br/>“Well that’s what it looked like to me. But no, I’m the bad guy for standing up for you and for standing up for myself. Well if that’s gonna be a deal breaker then we can’t be friends.” Once the words left his mouth, Dipper wished he could take them back. Not because they were a lie, but because now the option was there for him to leave and there was nothing that Dipper thought would hurt more than losing Bill.<br/>“I have to get back inside,” Bill said, his voice devoid of all emotion. <br/>“Have fun,” Dipper said spitefully.<br/>He watched as Bill turned and walked back to his house and into the mess that Dipper had created. With every step Bill took away from him, Dipper felt another piece of his heart get torn apart. He wanted to run to him, to tell him he was sorry for yelling at him, but he couldn’t. For one, he wasn’t sorry for what he had said to the man at the table and for two, he was pretty sure they both needed the space to cool down. So he watched until Bill disappeared behind the doors of the house before Dipper continued down the driveway to the road, where his ride was waiting. <br/>Ordinarily he would have been a bit chatty with the driver, not wanting to come across as rude. But tonight, he could only muster a small “Hello” when he entered the car and a “Thank you” when he was home. He walked into the shack, the lights all off except for the kitchen. As he opened the door, he was immediately met with his sister’s presence. <br/>“So, how’d it go,” she asked cheerfully. <br/>He sighed and sat down at the table. Instantly her mood changed. <br/>“Woah, Dippin’ Dots, you okay? What happened? I thought this was supposed to be a fun event?” <br/>Dipper told her what had happened at dinner but then paused when he got to the driveway bit. He sniffled. <br/>“I really messed up, Mabel,” he said, tears welling up in his eyes. “I shouldn’t have yelled at him.” He wiped his eyes but the tears were starting to flow freely. “God I’m such an idiot! I should have just kept my mouth shut like Bill told me to!”<br/>Mabel hugged him tightly. “You’re not an idiot, Dipper. For what it’s worth, I think it’s great that you stood up for him. Just, I think your tact was a little off.”<br/>“I know!” he said, his voice starting to break. “I shouldn’t have fucking yelled! I should have just, I don’t know, excused myself or something! I told him we couldn’t be friends and then he left, Mabel, he left. He went back inside to clean up the mess I made.” His breathing started to get quicker. <br/>“He wanted me there because he wanted company and a break from all the formalicy and I ruined it! I made everything worse.” Dipper’s world was starting to spin and suddenly everything felt too close and too hot and too overwhelming. <br/>He pushed his sister off of him and tried to fill his lungs with air but couldn’t. His throat was hurting and his chest felt like it was on fire. Through the fog, he could hear his sister tell him to breathe but that seemed like an impossible task. He started clawing at his neck and chest, trying to get air into his system but he just felt light headed and out of focus. <br/>“Breathe Dipper, come on, that’s it, just breathe,” he heard his sister’s voice cut through but he couldn’t focus on it. “Come on, Dipper, you can do it. Just take a big breath in and then out.” He tried to follow her commands but couldn’t get his chest to slow down. “You can do it, Dipper, just breathe with me, come on. In and out. In and out.”<br/>Dipper tried to focus on her words to ground himself and found her mantra soothing. His chest slowly started to rise and fall in sync with Mabel’s. <br/>“That’s it man, you’re a natural. Keep it up, in and out. In and out.” She smiled at him and Dipper could feel his heartbeat slowing down and his breathing return back to normal. <br/>“You okay now,” Mabel asked him after a few more deep breaths. <br/>“Well, I’m not still freaking the fuck out if that’s what you mean. Still feel like shit though,” Dipper replied. <br/>She chuckled a bit. “Well I don’t know if any amount of breathing will fix your Bill problem, but I do know that you’ll probably feel better after you get some sleep.” Mabel stood up and offered her hand to him. He took it and followed her up the stairs and into his bedroom. Once he gave her a hug of thanks and insisted he was fine, she left him alone and went to her own room.<br/>He got out of his clothes and pulled on an old pair of shorts before climbing into bed, exhausted and sad. He put his phone on the charger then let his head hit the pillow. Although nothing else that day had been easy for him, at least sleep came easy.</p>
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<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Author Note</h2></a>
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    <p>Hey, sorry for a long time between chapter updates. I picked up a lot of hours at work and given the state that the USA is in right now and everything that’s happening, I just haven’t found the time or energy to update this fic. <br/>I promise I haven’t forgotten about it though. I do have a plan and I am working on the next chapter; I just haven’t gotten the time to really sit down and write like I used to. But thank you for being patient. I’m hoping to have at least the next 2 chapters out by the end of the month. We’ll just have to see. <br/>But anyway. To all the protesters, stay safe. To any of you who are personally affected by the protests, stay strong. We can get through this together. We can achieve change and we are making history. Black lives matter. We cannot stand in silence anymore.</p>
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